Thursday, December 06, 2012

Man trapped under body of pilot in plane crash settles €1.7m case

A man who sued for at least €1.7m over a plane crash in which he was trapped under the body of a dead pilot for two hours has settled his High Court action.

Businessman Kevin Barry Jnr, who suffered extensive fractures including a brain injury, told the court rescuers did not even notice he was in the cockpit until he called out.

He feared the plane would explode, had difficulty breathing and felt his strength going before he "turned to God" and a half an hour later he knew he was going to be cut out by rescuers.

The court heard Mr Barry jun, of Clifden, Galway, was among a group of businessmen who arranged to take a demonstration flight aboard a Cessna Caravan single engine plane and were returning from lunch on the Aran islands when the crash occurred on July 5, 2007 as the plane was approaching to land at Connemara airstrip.

The pilot, Matt Masterson (59) from Terenure, Dublin and accountant Paul McNamee (7) from Loughrea, Co Galway died in the accident.

Today, Ms Justice Mary Irvine was told the case had been settled on undisclosed terms following four days at hearing.

The settlement was against the legal representative of the pilot; Lancton Taverns Ltd, SCD House, Waterloo Road, Dublin, and its director David Courtney.

The court was told that on approaching to land, the plane struck a small outcrop , bounced 100 feet in to the air, cart wheeled and and crashed.

The left wing severed coming to rest on the right hand side of the fuselage. The engine also detached.

Mr Barry Jnr, a father of three, sought general damages for pain and suffering as well as a further €1.7million for past and future loss of earnings in relation to several businesses and investments along with  expenses.

It was claimed Mr Barry Jnr suffered serious personal injuries including a fractured skull as well as fractures to his ribs and injuries to his chest and hand.

Prior to the accident, he was a highly motivated and active businessman and accountant but now has poor short term memory. He had to learn to walk again and now suffers from claustrophobia and struggles to find words when speaking.


Story:  http://www.independent.ie