A pilot has won damages over a helicopter crash in the Snowy Mountains, but a judge has questioned why he is still flying while claiming ongoing medical conditions.

Helicopter maintenance company Encore Aviation must pay Philip O’Driscoll $55,250 and his company O’Driscoll Aviation $429,944 over the accident in April 2018.

Mr O’Driscoll and his business sued for negligence and breach of duty under the Consumer Act, and the company also sued for breach of contract.

Encore denied breaching any duty or contract and raised issues of causation and contributory negligence.

The NSW Supreme Court found a mechanical defect caused the crash after both Mr O’Driscoll and a licensed maintenance engineer had inspected the helicopter that day.

Judge Richard Cavanagh accepted that outer cracking on the helicopter’s exhaust diffuser was present before the flight. He said the maintenance engineer’s failure to see it suggested he failed to conduct his inspection with the required care and skill and in accordance with the aircraft’s manual.

The judge assessed contributory negligence at 50%, saying there was no reason to distinguish between the pilot and the maintenance engineer’s culpability.

Mr O’Driscoll sustained significant injuries but has returned to flying on a restricted basis. He said his ability to earn was limited by physical and psychological injuries.

But the court found that when applying for his pilot’s licence every year since 2018, he told the Civil Aviation Safety Authority he had no psychological symptoms or condition.  

Judge Cavanagh raised this with Mr O’Driscoll’s counsel, noting it was a criminal offence to provide false declarations to the authority to obtain a licence. He was told Mr O’Driscoll would probably lose his licence.

The judge said Mr O’Driscoll’s financial records did not support his claim for loss or the assertion he could not perform flying duties, and no award was made for future economic loss.

The court accepted non-economic loss at 27% of the most extreme case, adding a loss of $30,000 for the months when he did not have a helicopter to fly.

Read the judgment here.