Plane crash survivor denies broken rules on ‘joyflight’
The survivor of an air show gone wrong says confusion clouds his memories of the deadly incident.
56-year-old pilot Stephen Gale and 30-year-old cameraman James Rose died when the Viper S-211 plane they were on nose-dived into Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay during a flight with another Viper in November 2023.
They were filming to promote a controversial TV show, Any Fool Can Fly, when the old fighter jets collided about 12km west of Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula.
Their plane had attempted an aerobatic maneuver by passing under another aircraft flying upside down to get footage when their right wings collided with each other, causing them to crash into the water.
The bodies of both men were later found off Mornington in the wreckage of their plane, known as Viper 2, which was submerged in 24 meters of water.
The other plane, Viper 1, and its two pilots landed safely at Essendon Airport after making a distress call.
On Monday, surviving pilot Peter Clements gave evidence at the inquest into the fatal flight.
He was asked about the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final investigation report, which found the operator did not have the required operating certificate to film the flight and the aircraft was not authorized to be used for that purpose.
Mr Clements disputed that suggestion, saying his “confused headspace” following a traumatic event led him to refer to Mr Rose as the cameraman on the flight.
“James did not go on that flight as a cameraman, he went on it as a pleasure flight,” Mr Clements told Melbourne Coroner’s Court.
He also ruled out the possibility that the owner, Mr. Gale, might ask him to make a video later.
“Stephen is a straight shooter. He knew the restrictions. There’s no way he could do that and not tell me,” he said.
“Since we were only using Go-Pro footage, it was legal to put the flight in the special category.”
He also argued that this was not a shooting flight because no money was exchanged.
The ATSB report also found that the reverse pass manoeuvre had not been briefed before the flight and that subsequent in-flight discussion of the maneuver did not allow for a full assessment of the risks involved before a second attempt was initiated.
But Mr Clements objected to this.
“The summary was enough, there is nothing else I need to put here. There was freedom of action and the point is that he misses us,” he said.
“In this dynamic environment, sometimes less is best.”
Shortly before November 2023, production company Blackfox Media expressed interest in Mr. Gale’s long-standing vision for the property TV project, and it was decided to put together a promotional video featuring stunt formations to market the show.
The trial continues.
