THE overconfidence of a Tawonga pilot who died in a plane crash at Lucyvale in September 2022 should have been reduced by his Wangaratta-based instructor during training, according to a coroner.

The Coroners Court of Victoria released its findings into the death of Matthew Farrell, 42, on Friday, 14 February and gave a critical review of Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus), who licenced the pilot.

Coroner Paul Lawrie said RAAus deliberately hid key documents during the court’s inquest and Mr Farrell should never have been granted a pilot’s licence, referring the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The court heard Mr Farrell flew out from Mount Beauty on 18 September, 2022, intending to fly to Wollongong to see his partner’s father on what would be his first cross-country flight.

Mr Farrell was airborne for approximately 40 minutes before his Jabiru J230-C aeroplane made impact with mountainous terrain east of Lucyvale.

According to GPS data, likely reasons for the loss of control were Mr Farrell losing visual reference as a result of being in cloud, and ice accretion affecting the airframe and propellor, leading the aircraft into a steep descent.

A member of the Mount Beauty Airport committee and experienced pilot Mark Bland told the court he had also planned to fly that day, but weather forecasts suggested it was unsuitable for recreational flying.

Aviation expert Captain Paul Mckeown said “Blind Freddy” could have seen it was not a day for a recreational pilot to go flying.

“It was reckless, cavalier, it’s totally out of character from everything else I’ve read about Mr Farrell,” he said.

“It’s inconceivable that he hadn’t made safety related risk assessments before.”

Following a search conducted the next morning, Mr Farrell’s body was found at the wreckage around 10am.

A keen paraglider, Mr Farrell began training for his Recreational Pilot’s Certificate on October 27, 2021, at the Geoff Wood Flying School in Wangaratta.

Prior to his death, the court heard Mr Farrell had received a total of 14.7 hours of flying training under Mr Wood in the North East, inclusive of 3.6 hours solo.

The inquest heard there were issues with Mr Farrell’s appetite for risk, with one Tasmanian based flight instructor refusing to sign off on a pilot’s certificate, believing his “arrogant” nature and “belief in his invincibility” was a worry.

Coroner Lawrie said his instructor, Mr Wood, should have recognised this and made Mr Farrell aware of his limitations and his limited experience flying a powered aircraft.

“Sadly, in this case it seems the relationship between instructor and student did not produce the caution and humility required in a novice pilot,” he said.

“Mr Wood offered hubris on Mr Farrell’s behalf when he claimed, 'I would have total confidence in his ability to do faultless navs anywhere in Australia'.”

“How could this be said of anyone, no matter how gifted, when they had less than 15 hours total time in a powered aircraft?

“If this was indicative of Mr Wood’s signals to Mr Farrell, as I expect it was, it can only have added to Mr Farrell’s over-confidence.”

Coroner Lawrie said a significant issue in Mr Farrell’s flight training was the inclusion of his flight time as a paraglider recognised as flight time towards his certificate.

The inquest heard documents discovered late into the coronial inquest process revealed aspects of evidence given by former RAAus head of flight operations Jill Bailey were false.

The coroner said Ms Bailey delivered evidence in a “combative” fashion, maintaining she had no doubts around the validity of Mr Farrell’s licence and did not consider auditing Mr Wood as a consequence of Mr Farrell’s crash.

Documents revealed of correspondence between Ms Bailey and RAAus staff in October 2022 showed the head of flight operations “held serious concerns” about the validity of Mr Farrell’s licence and proposed to remove Mr Wood’s flight-testing privileges.

Coroner Lawrie recommended several changes, including that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority examine the conduct of RAAus staff, and amend its manual to clarify what constitutes flight time.

Coroner Lawrie referred the conduct of RAAus staff during the inquest to the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions.

A joint statement issued by Mr Farrell’s partner, Karen Waller and Maurice Blackburn lawyers said it was alarming to hear documents had been hidden by RAAus in relation to the death of one of their own members.

“We have been troubled by the obstacles that have been put in the way of that during the inquest, this is evident by the findings which have been delivered,” they said.

“The inquest’s findings have confirmed our concerns from the beginning, that Mathew’s paragliding experience should not have been regarded as recognised flight time and he should not have been issued a Recreational Pilot Certificate via the converting pilot pathway.

“We welcome the findings of the coroner and will now be looking into legal avenues for our client."