WAIROA AIR TRAGEDY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17958, 9 December 1932, Page 9

WAIROA AIR TRAGEDY

DECISION REVERSED APPEAL COURT JUDGMENT COMPANY NOT RESPONSIBLE „ •" " r ~ / (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON* this day. Tlie Counted Appeal to-day delivered judgment riufce case, Dominion Airlines, Limited, vslSiVilliam Thomas Strand, which arose Worn a fatal aeroplane accident shortly after the Hawke’s Bay earthquake last year. The case presented considerable difficulties and the Court of Appeal in July asked for argument to be presented to another bend! of judges, consisting of members of both divisions of the court, that being done in October. On the bench were the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, Mr. Justice MacGregor, Mr. Justice Ostler, Mr. Justice {Smith, and Mr. Justice Kennedy. Giving judgment in favor of Dominion Airlines, Limited, Sir Michael Mvers, the Chief Justice, in an oral resume of his written judgment, said that in his opinion the regulations under the Aviation Act had been passed for the. benefit of a certain class of people, of which the deceased Strand was a. member, and a breach of those regulations gave rise to the cause of the action, providing a sufficient nexus could be established between a breach of the regulation and the injury occasioned. He differed from the judgment of the court below, however, on the question of negligence, for he was hot at .all satisfied with the evidence of negligence produced by Strand., and was forced to Jiold that aJbgligence had not been proved. Alit was not necessary to decide the point, he did not think that even it negligence had been established there was a sufficient nexus between the breach of the regulations and the iniurv. Mr. Justice MacGregor, in agreeing that the appeal should be allowed, said Strand failed to establish, that the Aviation Act and the regulations thereunder created a statutory right of action in Ins favor. 1 Mr." Justice Ostler held that there was sufficient evidence on which the court below was entitled to find that the accident Was caused by the negligence ot the pilot, and that the necessary nexus between the breach of regulations and .the injury existed. In his opinion the appeal should be dismissed. Air- - Justice Smith and Mr. Justice Kennedy agreed that the appeal should be allowed, and judgment was accordingly entered in favor of the appellant company, with costs on the highest scale.

The facts leading to the appeal were that dm February 18, 1931, shortly alter the Hawke’s Bay earthquake, a ‘ monoplane'; belonging to Dominion Airlines, Limited, now in liquidation, flying between: Gisborne and Hastings, crashed in a field near Wairoa, the pilot, Ivan Louis' Kight, and two passengers being lolled. An action was subsequentl> commenced in the Supreme Court by William Thomas Strand, father or William Charles Strand, one of the passengers who was killed, claiming under the Death by Accident Compensation Act the sum of £SGCO for the death of hi* seal The plaintiff alleged that the company had beep guilty of a'breach of statutory duty in failing to provide for the aeroplane a pilot holding a “I>, pilot s flying certificate issued under the aviation regulations, 1921. It was also alleged /that the pilot had been negligent in flyhinged too low an altitude, and at too ' EstiSpv reduced speed,''and in endeavor- | mg V perform a torn into the wind S' -while so flying. I The company denied liability, contend--l ing that it was a term of the contract I Of carriage that it should not bo placed. I under anv liability iu the event of an L &C Thf action was' originally Vml i» I Wellington in September, 1931, before I Mr Justice Reid, who held that there I was a Casual connection between a breach | of statutory duty, which he found the | company to have committed in fading to | provide a. pilot holding a R ’ and the accident. He held tint the I terms of the. contract of carriage di I not exonerate the company, and awarded I Strand £3OOO damages. Ihe appeal was I from that decision-.