Anna Bay: Huey pilot David Kerr blamed for crash that killed Greg Miller, Jocelyn Villanueva, Jamie Ogden and Grant Kuhnemann

A pilot with no night flying experience was blinded to rapidly deteriorating weather and fading light by his desire to “push through’ and get to Sydney, an inquest has heard.

Helicopter pilot David Kerr would have known he would arrive at Bankstown Airport after last light and was made aware of worsening weather conditions including strong winds, turbulence and bushfire smoke.

But he was probably experiencing “plan continuation bias” — a determination to keep going regardless — when he decided to press on to Sydney after refuelling at Coffs Harbour before crashing into the ocean about 5km south west of Anna Bay, north of Newcastle.

That was among several findings handed down by deputy state coroner Magistrate Carolyn Hunstman on Wednesday into the deaths of Mr Kerr and four of his passengers on board a restored Vietnam War-era “Huey” Bell Helicopter in September 2019.

Ms Husntman found Mr Kerr made a decision to continue flying to Bankstown “in spite of changed and worsening conditions”.

The inquest heard Mr Kerr purchased the helicopter from the US before having it shipped to Archerfield Airport in Brisbane where he became obsessed with having it rebuilt to its original glory.

Restoring the flying machine became such a focus it impacted on his family’s finances and would “ultimately lead to the demise of his marriage”.

The inquest also heard his designated aviation medical examiner concluded, after a review of all Mr Kerr’s medical information, that if the pilot was forced to act in an emergency while flying “his natural mindset was that he would be likely to take a risk to push through the crisis”.

Ms Huntsman ultimately found it was Mr Kerr’s error, as a pilot, which led to the “misadventure” deaths of his passengers Gregory Miller, Grant Kuhnemann, Jocelyn Villanueva and Jamie Ogden.

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The family of a woman killed in a helicopter crash about 5km southwest of Anna Bay, north of Newcastle, in 2019 has blasted — in a statement provided to an inquest — the pilot’s alleged “reckless decisions” to press on in fading light and deteriorating weather conditions.

Five people were killed when a restored Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1 “Huey” Iroquios helicopter crashed into the sea shortly after 6pm on September 6, 2019.

The owner and pilot David Kerr, 47, of Brisbane Helicopters, was operating the aircraft, and beside him in the front was serving Australian Defence Force Warrant Officer Greg Miller, 39, who had sold his beloved 1971 Ford GT Falcon to put a $200,000 deposit on the helicopter.

The search for the helicopter off Anna Bay. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

After 21 years in the military, including four rotations in Afghanistan, Warrant Officer Miller had gained his private pilot’s licence and was looking forward to pursuing his childhood passion by purchasing the helicopter — with the call sign UVC — which would be housed at Bankstown.

His partner Jocelyn Villanueva, 50, had reluctantly joined them on the flight to ferry the Huey from Archerfield Airport in Brisbane to Bankstown.

The pilot Mr Kerr had also invited two of his mates and former Queensland police colleagues Jamie Ogden, 48, and Grant Kuhnemann, 49, for the flight.

A Coronial Inquest at Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday heard Mr Kerr had purchased the helicopter in 2017 from the US for $357,491 before having it shipped to Brisbane where he had it meticulously rebuilt at the detriment of his marriage.

David Kerr, Queensland helicopter pilot involved in a fatal crash off Anna Bay in NSW. Picture: supplied

The inquest heard Mr Kerr, who was a former QLD police officer turned successful real estate agent before gaining his commercial licence in 2015, was a proficient pilot but had no experience or training with night flying.

The inquest also heard the helicopter was mechanically sound and compliant with all statutory requirements to fly, as per the USA Army’s manual, during the day.

The helicopter was not fitted with specialist equipment to fly at night.

Witnesses told police after the crash, while Mr Kerr was a good pilot he was “always running late”, “in a rush” and “a little disorganised”.

It was the same story on the morning of September 6, 2019 when Mr Kerr was seen to be delayed in re-fuelling the aircraft before it took off at 2.33pm.

“The witnesses, who were present and assisted police in their investigation, all expressed that the take off time had been significantly delayed where there was a consensus of concern among them,” the inquest heard.

Jamie Ogden

Grant Kuhnemann

The helicopter stopped at Coffs Harbour Airport to refuel where witnesses described the weather as “strange” and another pilot spoke to Mr Kerr about a “big front coming in from down south and it has hit a bit early”.

Others reported seeing a large thunderstorm to the west of Coffs Harbour while the Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory for severe turbulence below 10,000 feet.

After an unusual take off, in which the nose of the helicopter was seen to dip down, the Huey flew south before disappearing from radar off the coast as darkness fell shortly after 6pm.

A three-week search and rescue operation managed to recover parts of the wreckage from the sea floor in about 30m of water along with the bodies of Mr Miller and Mr Kuhnemann

The bodies of Mr Kerr, Ms Villanueva and Mr Ogden were never found.

Greg Miller & Jocelyn Villaneuva were killed in the helicopter crash. Picture: Facebook

An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found while the weather may have played a part, the accident was caused by the pilot becoming “spatially disorientated” in the dark.

A statement from Ms Villanueva’s family, read out at the inquest, revealed she had only agreed to go on the flight with her partner to spend as much time with him as possible before he went back on duty.

“Joce’s death and the ensuing traumas that followed were brought about by the reckless decisions and actions made by someone who should have known better, the person in charge of the helicopter,” the statement read.

“Joce wasn’t even meant to be on that flight nor did she really want to be on it. It was her love and unwavering support for her partner Greg that eventually swayed her into joining that flight. Greg was soon to be deployed to the Middle East with the Army and Joce was encouraged to spend as much time with Greg as possible beforehand.

“Spending time together while Greg pursued his childhood love of helicopters was meant to be a very special moment in their relationship. This was their first flight together on that helicopter.

“Joce and Greg tragically trusted the abilities of a pilot who for reasons unknown didn’t put the safety of his passengers first and foremost. The pilot didn’t have the equipment, capabilities nor experience with flying at night. The pilot was required by law to stay in the light but chose to fly into the dark and in doing so destroyed so many lives with him.”