Pilot claiming K21.9mil

A VICTORIAN pilot is claiming A$10million (K21.9million) from an international aviation company that allegedly failed to warn him of weather conditions on the day his helicopter crashed, killing three people and leaving him unable to walk.
Bruce Towers, 69, said he “shouldn’t have survived” the horrific accident, which occurred when his helicopter was suddenly engulfed in thick cloud while transporting six workers from an oil and gas mine in the Highlands in 2006.
“All of a sudden I got a sudden temperature change and it went into sheer fog on the 4,000–5,000-ft mountain,” he said.
“This particular helicopter that I was flying in didn’t have gyro instruments that I could keep the helicopter upright.”
Within 30 seconds the helicopter slammed into a tree and crashed, falling about 50 metres, killing three passengers and “mashing” Towers’ spine.
A court decision in 2016 found international aviation company, Hevilift, had failed to provide Towers with adequate flight instruments and training required for the conditions.
Justice James Henry also found the company had breached its duty of care by not informing Towers of the weather phenomena in the region, which caused clouds to form suddenly in the late afternoon.
“I am glad to be here, but I shouldn’t be.
“I feel real crook for (the workers that died.
“They were all indigenous workers up there with Oil Search.”
Now a C5 and C6 quadriplegic, Towers has been in and out of hospital for extended periods since the incident and requires a wheelchair to move around.
He said he had spent his entire superannuation on hospital expenses and do limited work.
“Because I’ve spent a lot of time on my butt, I do have pressure issues.
“Also the base of your spine–that’s where you lose all your temperature systems and also your bowel and bladder movements.
“Injury there means you have to manually control all that.”
Towers said he felt lucky to be alive.
“I wish I had my legs back–I wish it never happened – but that’s life, we just fight on,” he said.
Fourteen years since the accident, Towers is hoping for an end to the ongoing legal saga this week.
After fighting to have his case heard in Australia, winning a Supreme Court trial against Hevilift and its appeal in 2016, he is back in the Cairns Civil Court attempting to claim A$10 million in damages from the company.
“We’d like it to be over.”
Hevilift is a Papua New Guinean aviation company that services PNG, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands.
The company is expected to open its case today and will dispute Towers’ life expectancy. – ABC