Manslaughter trial for pilot

Former Ansett pilot Garry Norman Sotheran is to be tried on manslaughter and unlawful injury charges over the deaths of four people from the June 1995 crash of Flight 703 near Palmerston North.

Judge Gregory Ross ruled yesterday, after seven days of depositions in the Palmerston North District Court, that there was sufficient evidence supporting the prosecution case to bring the matter to trial.

Sotheran will stand trial in the High Court on four charges of manslaughter and three of injuring passengers. Three people died in the crash and a fourth died in hospital.

Sotheran has pleaded not guilty. He was remanded on bail at large.

"What I wish to make abundantly clear is I'm not determining guilt or innocence as far as Mr Sotheran is concerned," Judge Ross said. "I'm not delivering a verdict - I'm making a decision after a preliminary hearing."

He said determining the matter was dependent on two points: first, that the prosecution proved that the aircraft - a machine which in the absence of care or precaution could endanger human life - was operated by or under the control of the defendant; and second, that it proved that an omission by the defendant to perform his legal duty resulted in the crash and the deaths and injury of the victims.

Judge Ross said there was little dispute over the first point or the fact that the crash had resulted in the deaths of four people and had caused injuries to others. The key issue was whether the crash and the subsequent deaths and injuries had been the result of a failure by Sotheran to take reasonable care and precautions to avoid the dangers inherent in operating the aircraft under his control.

Judge Ross said that although there were various contributors to the crash, there were sufficient grounds, based on the evidence before him, to suggest that failure by Sotheran to perform his legal duty was a substantive cause.

A callover at which a trial date is expected to be set will be held in Palmerston North on October 3.

- NZPA