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Post by shorty on Jan 3, 2019 10:03:49 GMT 12
From todays ODT
The pilot of the Yak-3 aircraft that crashed at the Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow last Easter is taking the show organisers to court. Arthur Dovey told the Otago Daily Times this week a writ had been filed in the High Court at Wellington claiming damages for the cost of repairing his aircraft.
Mr Dovey said the claim was against Warbirds over Wanaka Airshows Ltd, which is owned by the Warbirds Over Wanaka Community Trust.
Four individuals involved in the running of the show were also named in the writ, Mr Dovey said.Trust general manager Ed Taylor confirmed the legal action in relation to the ''landing incident''.
''The trust does not accept the claim and will be defending the proceedings,'' he said.
A claim has also been laid against the New Zealand Defence Department which had a role at the airshow.
Mr Dovey and another pilot were asked to open the show on March 31 when two United States air force F-16s based at Christchurch were delayed by bad weather.
After his display, Mr Dovey landed on a grass area north of the sealed runway, hitting two 8-tonne cherry pickers positioned there as part of the show's light aircraft pyrotechnic display that was to follow the opening.
He was uninjured, but the aircraft was badly damaged.
Mr Dovey maintains that during the morning briefing before the show, pilots were not warned of the cherry pickers and no restriction was placed on where planes could land.
When landing a 1940s-era Soviet-made Yak-3, the pilot has restricted forward vision because of the aircraft's extended nose and three-point landing attitude.
Mr Dovey said those named had until January 25 to lodge a defence.
A Civil Aviation Authority accident report on the crash is being prepared.
Mr Dovey has been flying for more than 50 years and has owned the Yak-3 for about 13 years. It is one of fewer than 10 in the world still flying and is estimated to be worth well over $1 million.
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Post by suthg on Jan 3, 2019 10:47:52 GMT 12
I don't think anyone should be making any further comments on this incident while under court proceedings. There are always Pros and Cons in any situation and incident such as this and any discussion would prejudice the writ or defence thereof. Graeme
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 3, 2019 11:11:42 GMT 12
I absolutely agree with that Graeme. Good call. There is a lot more to this case than the average Joe public is aware of, and it is for the Court to decide, not the public.
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jan 3, 2019 11:29:12 GMT 12
There are so many rumours floating around, I've heard about six different stories about "what really happened" and I'm sure none of them are completely correct. That report does tend to suggest that the aircraft is at least being repaired?
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Post by Mustang51 on Jan 4, 2019 8:15:40 GMT 12
Leave it to the CAA and the courts..............
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Post by craig on Jan 5, 2019 7:57:14 GMT 12
What a shame that often when topics vaguely interesting and/or relevant to the current aviation climate that come up. The discussion is closed down by the 'powers that be'. Clearly some of you are in the loop. This is one reason I no longer post updates on the Cropmaster resto. You can find out about progress just like everyone else.
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Post by baz62 on Jan 5, 2019 11:26:46 GMT 12
Clearly some of you are in the loop. Being in the loop is not the same as being right. And when a court case is involved the last thing a judge wants is some "experts" saying they "know" why it happened when they have never flown a WW2 fighter or anything at all. Someone then reads it, thinks it's right and then gets picked for the jury. Yeah real clever.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 5, 2019 12:10:00 GMT 12
What a shame that often when topics vaguely interesting and/or relevant to the current aviation climate that come up. The discussion is closed down by the 'powers that be'. Clearly some of you are in the loop. This is one reason I no longer post updates on the Cropmaster resto. You can find out about progress just like everyone else. This forum has always had a clear policy of no speculation, no rumours and no innuendo will be posted when it comes to accidents or incidents. This is to protect the privacy and legal status of any the parties involved, and to protect the forum or its members who post such comments from legal action. This forum is extremely widely read by people across the whole spectrum of New Zealand aviation, and we'd hate for anyone who has a mishap to then be slandered or gossiped about or generally put in a bad light by people who are not involved but think they know it all. If you prefer wild rumours, innuendo and uninformed armchair expert commentary, go to Facebook. They are are all over it there. I know this much, I am not in any loop on this accident but it does not take much thinking to realise this is a very complex case with issues on both sides, and the court case and the people involved do not need people idling speculating in public, end of story. Furthermore, I don't know what the "powers that be" have done to apparently upset you, but it is sad to hear you have chosen to stop posting updates on your project. If anyone has an issue with the way I or the moderation team has made decisions that affect the forum, they are most welcome to contact us to discuss them, rather than brooding and spitting dummies without us being aware there may be an issue.
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