PASSENGERS ON board an ill-fated flight which crashed in Connemara, killing two men, were not given any safety instructions, an inquest has been told.
The inquest in Galway, which is expected to conclude today, was told that none of the passengers were given any safety instructions on the seven-minute flight from Inis Meain to Connemara airport in Inverin.
Pilot Matt Masterson (59) from Terenure, Dublin, and accountant Paul McNamee (57), Loughrea, Co Galway, were killed in the crash on July 5th, 2007.
Martin Acton, Clifden, Co Galway, who sustained serious injuries in the crash, told the inquest that none of his party had been advised of the whereabouts of life jackets or safety material.
“No briefing was given . . . My seat was swivelling on the flight and the seat belt was cutting into me,” he said.
Paddy Judge, an inspector from the Air Accident Investigation Unit, confirmed that on later inspection, it had been discovered that the seat was not secured.
Galway coroner Dr Ciarán McLoughlin asked Mr Judge whose responsibility it was to advise the passengers on safety matters. Mr Judge said that the responsibility fell on the pilot.
Mr Judge said the Cessna aircraft had been on a demonstration flight and was returning to Connemara airport from Inis Meain when the crash happened.
The pilot and an aircraft maintenance engineer had been joined by Mr McNamee and six other businessmen. Mr Judge said the flight was organised in a private capacity and was not governed by laws covering commercial flights.
The plane was 293lb overweight. Because the altimeter was giving an incorrect height reading, the pilot was actually flying lower than he expected. Mr Judge said the pilot would have realised he was going much faster than he should have been as he approached the airport and decided to overshoot it, but he lost control and the aircraft struck a mound.