Firefighter’s widow settles CASA litigation

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has avoided a Supreme Court showdown after reaching a settlement with the widow of a pilot killed while fighting bushfires almost a decade ago.

After six years of costly litigation, stress and sleepless nights, Julie Black has accepted a confidential settlement from CASA. Picture: John Feder

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has narrowly escaped the public scrutiny of a Supreme Court showdown after reaching an 11th-hour settlement with the widow of a pilot killed while fighting bushfires near Ulladulla almost a decade ago.

After six years of costly litigation, stress and sleepless nights, Julie Black has accepted a confidential settlement from CASA and other parties just days before their NSW Supreme Court trial was due to begin.

David Black had been water-bombing on the NSW south coast for the Rural Fire Service in October 2013 when the left wing tore off his modified PZL Mielec M-18 Dromader, sending it plummeting to an “unsurvivable impact”.

The 43-year-old left behind his wife and their three young children.

He was also the director and chief pilot of the couple’s aerial crop spraying business, Rebel Ag, in Trangie.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau later revealed that Beal Aircraft Maintenance and Aviation NDT had inspected the aircraft’s wings 11 weeks before the crash using an incorrect technique called the eddy current method which was not approved by CASA.

A Coronial Inquest also found that the inspection, maintenance and testing procedures used on the aircraft were “inadequate” and failed to detect both corrosion pitting and a fatigue crack in the left wing’s lower attachment fitting.

Firefighter David Black was water-bombing on the NSW south coast for the Rural Fire Service in October 2013 when the left wing tore off his plane.

After the inquest, Ms Black launched civil action against CASA, Beal Aircraft Maintenance, engineer Bruce Beal, Aviation NDT, Australian NDT Services, and NDT technicians Travis Tuck and Neil Joiner.

In a statement of claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court, Ms Black accused the parties of – among other things – breach of statutory duty, breach of duty and negligence.

The 48-year-old sought relief in the form of damages, compensation and costs on behalf of herself and her children who suffered injury, loss and damage.

In the court documents Ms Black states CASA failed to comply with its statutory duties and breached its duty of care. CASA should have conducted regular surveillance and audits of Aviation NDT, Australian NDT Services and Beal Aircraft Maintenance to ensure they were performing inspections in a correct and compliant manner, according to the documents.

In their defence pleadings, CASA denied many of the allegations, saying it “did not owe a duty to David Black as alleged … or at all”.

“Neither the accident, nor the deceased‘s death on 24 October 2013, was foreseeable,” CASA countered.

“At all material times CASA exercised reasonable care in the performance of its statutory functions and the exercise of its statutory powers.”

Julie and David Black their children, Sophie, Oliver and Adelaide.

CASA also claimed the exercise of its functions was “limited by the financial and other resources that are reasonably available to CASA”.

“CASA relied upon the skill, experience and expertise of second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants to undertake aircraft maintenance, assessment and inspection work in accordance with all applicable maintenance, assessment and inspection guidelines, manuals and directives, including and not limited to the CASA AD, as in force over the period of the operation of the Aircraft,” the pleadings said.

CASA denied it owed “any of the duties alleged” and rejected that the plaintiffs were “entitled to any damages for losses as alleged”, countering that any damages or losses “were caused or contributed to by the negligence of David Black”.

They accused the aircraft owner and operator of failing to comply with various sections of the Civil Aviation Act and regulations related to handling, maintaining and operating the aircraft.

The Australian was not granted access to, or provided with, the defence pleadings of the other defendants.

After multiple failed mediation attempts, the case was set down for a trial starting Monday but on April 21 Justice Michael Walton approved the secret settlement.

When contacted at the weekend Ms Black said she was relieved her legal battle was over but called it a “bittersweet” victory.

“I am certainly relieved this chapter is now over,” she said.