Plane crash victim’s kids continue their fight against airline

The children of a photographer who died in a light plane crash while shooting the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race may still be able to sue the airline.

Plane removed from water with crane on barge, "Kalunda" as members of Tasmania Police photograph it. The plane crashed into the sea off the Tasman Peninsula with a pilot and photographer on board. They were covering the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

THE children of a well-known Hobart photographer who died in a light plane crash during a Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race have overcome a legal hurdle in their fight to sue the airline.

The children of Timothy Peter Jones – Robert, Caitlin and William – may still be able to claim for “nervous shock” following their father’s death despite an attempt from Airlines of Tasmania to block them from doing so.

Hobart-based photographer Tim Jones.

Mr Jones, 61, and pilot Sam Langford, 29, died in December 2014 when their Cessna 172 crashed into Storm Bay on the Tasman Peninsula as the photographer captured the iconic race.

Mr Jones’ children filed a statement of claim against the airline in December 2016, suing for damages under the Fatal Accidents Act.

They claimed their father’s death was caused by a wrongful act or neglect and caused them nervous shock, pain and suffering, and loss of future earnings.

The Mercury’s front page from the time.

But in October last year, Airlines of Tasmania filed an interlocutory application seeking the psychiatric injury aspect of the claim be struck out.

As an alternative to that application, the airline applied for a court to determine whether damages for mental harm could be awarded under Commonwealth legislation.

The recovered plane on the deck of the "Kalunda", which brought it up from the sea bed. The plane crashed into the sea off the Tasman Peninsula with a pilot and photographer on board. They were covering the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

On Wednesday, Associate Justice Stephen Holt handed down a judgment that Mr Jones’ children couldn’t claim at common law under the Fatal Accidents Act for psychiatric injury.

However, he did find the question of whether they could claim under the Commonwealth legislation – and applied under Tasmanian law – needed to be answered by the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

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A report by the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau was released in 2015, finding the plane entered a spin after a steep climbing turn – which the pilot hadn’t been trained for – stalling the aircraft. The plane then nosedived into the sea, east of Cape Raoul, and sank 90m to the ocean floor.

It had just finished a photo run of yacht Mistral at a height of about 15m – about 45m lower than the airline was allowed to fly – although this wasn’t deemed to be responsible for the crash.

The psychiatric injury matter will return to court at a date to be determined.

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