The director of a regional flight school has been found guilty of safety breaches related to the deaths of two skydivers, who became entangled on a plane during a jump gone wrong.
Experienced instructor Stephen Hoare, 37, and his tandem passenger Alex Welling, 32, died while skydiving at Goulburn airport in southern NSW in 2021.
SafeWork NSW charged Goulburn Flight Training Centre and its sole director Attilio Giovanni Ferrara, known as John Ferrara, with two counts each of breaching workplace safety duties.
Both the flight school and its director were found guilty of the offences in a NSW District Court on Tuesday.
The prosecutor had established the elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt, Judge Andrew Scotting found.
Ferrara was not present in court when the decision was handed down.
He will face sentencing at a later date.
During the 10-day trial in September 2025, the court was told the skydivers' equipment had snagged on a metal step that was recently installed on the Cessna plane.
A short GoPro video taken by a third solo skydiver during the June 27 flight showed Mr Welling smiling as he moved towards the open door of the plane strapped to Mr Hoare.
The men were filmed sitting on the edge of the open door for a few seconds before they attempted to launch.
The vision showed a black strap getting caught on the protruding step, leaving the pair frantically dangling upside-down mid-air.
The pilot later attempted several manoeuvres to free the men, including flying low over the airport while staff on the ground stood on top of a four-wheel drive to try and grab them.
Australian Associated Press
