Inquest at the Victorian Coroner’s Court into the death of Mathew Farrell in a light plane crash

Concerns have been raised about training requirements for recreational pilots after an inquest heard a pilot who died had gained his licence through an accelerated pilot training program.

Mathew Farrell, 42, was killed when the light plane he was flying solo crashed into mountainous terrain near Lucyvale. Picture: Facebook

An adventurer killed in a plane crash in Victoria’s high country was granted a pilot licence with minimal flying experience, raising concerns about training requirements for recreational pilots.

Filmmaker and photographer Mathew Farrell, 42, was killed when the light plane he was flying solo crashed into mountainous terrain near Lucyvale less than an hour after he took off from Mount Beauty Airport in September 2022.

An inquest at the Victorian Coroner’s Court on Monday heard Mr Farrell was able to use his extensive paragliding experience to take part in an accelerated pilot training program which required just five hours flight time and one hour as pilot-in-command.

The court heard Mr Farrell had about 15 hours of flight time with an instructor before he was granted a flying certificate by Recreational Aviation Australia in April 2022 — five months before his death.

Mr Farrell’s pilot training program required just five hours flight time and one hour as pilot-in-command.

Mr Farrell’s fiancee Karen Waller, who also held a pilot’s licence, fought back tears as she told the court she was “too scared” to fly with him and held serious concerns about the training he received.

“The skill of flying a paraglider does not transfer to that of a powered 3-axis fixed wing aircraft,” she said in a witness statement.

Ms Waller told the court Mr Farrell’s flight instructor Geoff Wood — who was expected to be a key witness in the inquest but recently passed away — offered a cheap course with minimal training.

“I think Matt enjoyed the way Geoff taught because it was fast and he got to fly straight away,” she said.

Mr Farrell and his fiancee Karen Waller who said she was ‘too scared’ to fly with him. Picture: Supplied

She also noted an alleged conflict of interest with Recreational Aviation Australia who had granted Mr Farrell’s pilot licence but were also tasked with investigating their own conduct.

At midday on September 18, Mr Farrell took off from Mount Beauty Airport in his recently purchased Jabiru J230 bound for Wollongong in NSW.

Flight recordings showed his speed dropped significantly and elevation rose before he crashed into mountainous terrain sometime between 12.41pm and 12.51pm.

A search was launched after he failed to arrive at his destination, with the crash site not found until the following morning due to adverse weather.

Flight recordings showed Mr Farrell’s speed dropped significantly and elevation rose before he crashed.

The plane’s engine was largely intact and examinations later revealed it was operating at the time of the crash.

Another pilot Mark Bland, who saw Mr Farrell take off, told the court he was surprised to see someone flying given the poor conditions.

He estimated the cloud base was about 2000 to 3000ft and said he later told another pilot it would be “ridiculous” to fly over the mountains due to freezing issues and visibility.

“I had planned to fly myself earlier … (but) my observations of the weather that day was that it wouldn’t be suitable,” he said.

The inquest is expected to probe whether Mr Farrell was flying to visual flight rules which require at least 5000m of visibility.

In a statement, Ms Waller described Mr Farrell as a “wonderful, caring partner” who had a love for adventure and the outdoors.

“Mathew was the love of my life, a beacon of strength and light for so many others, and the world is a lesser place for his loss,” she said.

“I want to get to the bottom of what happened. I also want to make sure that if anything could have been done to prevent Mathew’s death we become aware of this and fix it so nothing like this happens to anyone else.”

Outside court, Maurice Blackburn special counsel Trang van Heugten said she would welcome any coronial recommendations that would improve recreational flying safety.

Mr Farrell was an experienced photographer and filmmaker who had worked on various solo projects and larger productions with News Corp, ABC, Channel 7, Channel 9, Telstra and Getty.

Originally from Tasmania, Mr Farrell moved to Tawonga where he met Ms Waller who he was engaged to marry.

He also worked as polar guide, zodiac boat driver, paraglider and climbing guide.

The inquest, which is expected to run for four days, continues.