The families of two men who died when a light aircraft crashed into the sea between Malta and Tunisia in December 1995 were yesterday awarded a total of €467,200 in damages.
The heirs of Philip Farrugia and Polish Tadeusz Gorny won €288,000 and €179,200 respectively after the First Hall of the Civil Court ruled the pilot’s heirs and companies were liable.
Six people died in the crash, including three Maltese: pilot Carmel Bartolo and passengers Mr Farrugia, who was an assistant driller on an oil rig, and accountant Matthew Aquilina.
Mr Bartolo had flown the Piper Lance plane from Malta to Djerba, in Tunisia, on December 2, 1995, carrying three passengers: David Sills, Rodney Wood and Omar Kelb, the court heard.
Mr Farrugia, Mr Gorny and Mr Aquilina joined Briton Michael Williams and Irishman Desmond Goomer as passengers on the return journey the following day, when the plane crashed and all were lost.
Testifying during the proceedings, the three men who travelled on the plane the day before the crash said it had visible technical problems.
Mr Sills said that, as they removed their luggage, they saw a belt hanging out behind the propeller.
Mr Wood said they had flown through a storm and Mr Bartolo tried to get the GPS working and asked him to fix the wiring. He told Mr Bartolo he was not an aircraft engineer. Mr Wood testified that they were all very cold. Mr Bartolo had looked very worried before Mr Wood told him that he would not touch an aircraft on the ground, let alone at an altitude of 10,000 feet in the middle of a storm.
The heirs of Mr Farrugia and Mr Gormy sued Sun Aviation Ltd, Excelair Ltd, Unique Travel Ltd, the Civil Aviation Department, the Ministry for Transport and Mr Bartolo’s heirs.
The Farrugia family demanded damages on grounds that Mr Bartolo had been negligent.
Mr Justice Anthony Ellul said the plane belonged to Sun Aviation Ltd, a company owned by Mr Bartolo, and had been covered by a certificate of airworthiness issued in January 1995.
Mr Bartolo’s other company, Excelair Ltd, owned two more planes and he was licensed as a commercial pilot.
Following the accident, an investigation carried out by the Ministry for Transport had concluded that there had been lack of aircraft airworthiness, adverse weather conditions and pilot fatigue, anxiety and stress, though it found no certain proof of what had led to the crash.
Evidence produced showed that on the day before the accident, other passengers on the plane had complained that the plane was not in a good condition.
It resulted that the weather conditions were adverse on the day of the crash and that warnings had been issued to all aircraft.
Mr Justice Ellul acquitted Unique Travel Ltd, the Civil Aviation Department and the Ministry for Transport of any responsibility. It found Mr Bartolo’s heirs, Sun Aviation Ltd and Excelair Ltd liable for damages.
Sun Aviation Ltd had allowed the plane to be used for a commercial flight even though it was not licensed to do so and Excelair Ltd had organised the flight.
Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt appeared for the Farrugia family.