Ball Bay crash pilot Peter Douglas McDougall faces 14 new Commonwealth charges
An amateur pilot facing manslaughter charges has been slapped with 14 new charges related to a different airplane he was allegedly also unauthorised to fly.
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A man facing trial after an amateur flight ended in tragedy on a Whitsunday beach has been slapped with 14 new charges.
Peter Douglas McDougall returned to Mackay courthouse on Tuesday to face new charges from the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions, which are unrelated to the crash that killed an 83-year-old.
Mr McDougall was flying an amateur-built Jodel D11 light aircraft on Christmas Eve in 2021 when the plane crashed at Ball Bay at 7.30am, leading to the death of Kuttabul grandfather Gerardus Miltenberg.
His counsel John Maitland appeared by phone call to ask the matters be married up with Mr McDougall’s trial for manslaughter.
“There’s a fresh set of charges against Mr McDougall, this time by the Commonwealth DPP,” Mr Maitland told the court.
“They’re all historical type offences dating back to 2011.
“As the court will know, Mr McDougall will stand trial in the Supreme Court for a manslaughter charge and there’s other summary charges that arose out of the same set of circumstances in flying this aeroplane.”
Commonwealth prosecutor Sam Lanskey said the charges were different “in the sense that they involve a different aircraft” from the one which crashed on Ball Bay and agreed they could be adjourned to appear in totality with Mr McDougall’s other charges.
Mr McDougall is charged with six counts of not being authorised to perform a duty, one count of an unauthorised flight, five counts of purported issue of authorisation, and two counts of an undefined offence.
He did not enter any pleas to the charges.
The court heard his Supreme Court matters had been committed without a listed date but an indictment was expected to be presented within July.
Acting magistrate Nigel Rees adjourned the matters to December 13 for mention.
Mr McDougall was ordered to sign a bail on his own undertaking for the Commonwealth charges, but will face no reporting conditions like those for his state charges.
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Originally published as Ball Bay crash pilot Peter Douglas McDougall faces 14 new Commonwealth charges
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