Plane crash was an accident: jury inquest:

Retired dentist David Watt, 64, of Kirkby Stephen, was returning from a social visit to RAF Valley, Anglesey, in his light aircraft on May 5, 2011 when he crashed at his private airstrip in Labthwaite.

The inquest was told that the terrain led to unpredictable wind conditions because of high ground surrounding the airstrip, but he had successfully taken off and landed from the site since 1999.

The jury told the inquest they believed Mr Watt was trying to ‘go around’ and either have another attempt at landing after a gust of wind forced him left, or to land at a friend’s house which provided a less-challenging landing.

But the left wing of his light aircraft clipped a group of trees at the side of the runway and caused the plane to crash. The 11-person jury returned a unanimous verdict of accidental death.

Mr Watt, who was a member of the Kirkby Stephen Mountain Rescue team, died of head and neck injuries.

Pathologist Wing Commander Graham Maidment said that Mr Watt suffered from an irregular heartbeat, but he said that this did not contribute to the accident.

The inquest was also told that Mr Watt may have taken a tramadol painkiller the night before flying back to Kirkby Stephen.

The jury was told this has a side effect of dizziness, but the jury believed that this did not contribute to the accident.

Wing Commander Maidment added that a deep gash on Mr Watt’s left hand indicated that his hands were on the controls at the time of the crash. He said this ruled out the possibility of him blacking out before the crash due to medical conditions.

Afandi Darlington, an engineering inspector of air accidents, said the crash was not caused by any technical fault with the plane.

Ian Smith, coroner for South and East Cumbria, said: “I don’t believe he came down with a medical condition – he’d got from where he set off, he made the approach, came in towards the strip and then he crashed so he was clearly in control for 99.9 per cent of that journey.

“I get the picture of a responsible, sensible man.”

Mr Watt’s wife Anette told the inquest: “He was a very respected member of the community in Kirkby Stephen.

“It was a very difficult strip and the wind was always complicated but he knew all the risks.

“He flew in and out of that strip for many years but unfortunately not on this occasion.”

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