Glenorchy Air pilot Nathan Dale-Emberton has conceded he would be guilty of carelessness if claims he flew into a ‘‘nightmare'' of thick cloud - as his passengers said he did - while on a Milford Sound scenic flight were true.
However, Mr Dale-Emberton (45), of Queenstown, has again denied breaking visual flight rules or flying carelessly, during evidence in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.
He denies two charges of operating an Airvan GA8 in a careless manner and two of operating the aircraft in breach of CAA visual flight rules, following flights to and from Milford Sound on September 27, 2005.
In January, four passengers on board the flight testified Mr Dale-Emberton had flown into thick cloud during flights to and from Milford Sound, at times emerging near rock faces, before aborting the return flight to Queenstown because of deteriorating weather.
The court heard Mr Dale-Emberton seemed panicked at times during the return flight, lost sight of a nearby helicopter and performed a 360-degree turn while searching for a way out of the cloud.
One passenger, Michelle Williams-Smith, of the United States, said she feared for her life, while another, Trevor Robb, a commercial fisherman, of Picton, claimed he could not see the propeller from the aircraft's front passenger seat while in thick cloud.
Yesterday, Mr Dale-Emberton, giving evidence for a second day, said he could not explain his passengers recollections of the flight, except to say they were wrong.
‘‘I think the passengers have a different perception of what cloud is,'' he said. ‘‘I was never in cloud. I was never, ever in cloud.''
Crown prosecutor Philip Shamy, of Christchurch, suggested the case rested on whether Mr Dale-Emberton's evidence - as a trained pilot - outweighed that of the four passengers, who were all seated at windows in an aircraft designed to maximise views.
All the passengers, including Mr Smith - who had 18 years' experience as a fisherman - had reported flying into cloud, Mr Shamy said.
‘‘What I can't understand is how they can be wrong and you can be right,'' Mr Shamy told Mr Dale-Emberton.
‘‘You are not seriously suggesting a man with 18 years' fishing experience doesn't know when he's in cloud, are you?''
‘‘I am,'' replied Mr Dale-Emberton, insisting the claims were ‘‘ludicrous''.
Earlier, he described hunting for a mountain pass clear of cloud while attempting the return flight from Milford Sound to Queenstown, before the deteriorating weather forced him to return to Milford.
The cloud base had been ‘‘very high'' - about 5500ft - when he took off for Queenstown at 11.35am, while visibility was ‘‘pretty good'' at 15km to 25km in the worst direction, he said.
He said the flight first encountered cloud and light rain on the coast, followed by a ‘‘curtain of cloud'' in the Hollyford Valley - although Mr Dale-Emberton insisted he stayed well clear.
More cloud was found over the Alabaster saddle - one planned route to the east - and threatening weather by the Olivine River. Fearing cloud could close in around him there, Mr Dale-Emberton decided to return to Milford Sound.
He said a left turn - rather than a complete 360-degree circuit - took him back to the Hollyford River and Lake Alabaster, where there was more light rain and reduced visibility, before he flew to the coast and landed safely at Milford aerodrome.
The reduced visibility, which was due to rain, ‘‘certainly wasn't very pleasant'' but the aircraft was never in cloud, or in danger, he said.
‘‘The fact that it's unpleasant doesn't make it unsafe,'' he said. ‘‘It's a difference of opinion between the layperson and the pilot.''
The hearing is expected to conclude today.
