A pilot who caused a deadly light plane crash on an island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been spared a jail sentence.
British tourist Jocelyn Spurway, 29, was killed and 21-year-old Irish woman Hannah O’Dowd seriously injured when the aircraft hit the sand on Middle Island in January 2017.
A jury found pilot Leslie Woodall guilty of dangerously operating a vehicle causing death and grievous bodily harm, after a short trial which focused on his actions after one of the plane’s engines suddenly failed.
Woodall was given a two-year sentence, wholly suspended – which means the 64-year-old will remain free as long as he complies with certain conditions.
The three-day trial in the Brisbane District Court was shown footage filmed by one of the three passengers inside the plane, which captured the moment the engine stopped and Woodall sharply turned the plane to the left.
The Cessna 172N then rapidly lost altitude, before a wing hit the sand and it rolled.
Ms Spurway suffered fatal spinal injuries, and her friend Ms O’Dowd was left with a traumatic brain injury and a series of fractures. Woodall also sustained serious injuries, and a 13-year-old boy who was on board suffered a broken ankle.
Prosecutors argued it was not the engine failure that caused the crash, but rather Woodall’s response to it.
Aviation experts who gave evidence during the trial agreed that Woodall, an experienced pilot, went against flight training and best practice. He should have kept the wings level in order to glide and safely land, they said.
However Woodall’s defence team argued he had little other options available to him in a highly stressful situation.
In a 2019 police interview played to the court he told officers he was trying to reach a sandbank, according to reports by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I decided not to land in the water as it was deep, and I was concerned about the risks of drowning and the risk of bull sharks,” the pilot said.
“I truly believe I did everything I could to ensure the safety of those on board.”