Stephen Hoare skydiving deaths at Goulburn Airport as father forgives John Ferrara ahead of NSW sentencing
The family of an experienced skydiving instructor killed in a catastrophic mid-air fall hope his death leads to safety changes across the industry.
The bereaved father of a skydiver killed after getting tangled on a plane says he does not hold a grudge against the man convicted over the accident.
Experienced instructor Stephen Hoare, 37, and his tandem passenger, Alex Welling, 32, died while skydiving at Goulburn airport in southern NSW on June 27, 2021.
The pair fell about 100 metres to their deaths after their equipment got snagged on a step that had recently been installed on the Cessna plane.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.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.
They were found guilty in NSW District Court in March.
Judge Andrew Scotting found the fabricated step was an “obvious and dangerous snag hazard”.
During a sentencing hearing on Friday, Mr Hoare’s father Frank looked across the sparse courtroom to Ferrara.
Mr Hoare said he held “no animosity” towards Ferrara or Jim Czerwinski, the pilot who installed the step and flew the plane that day.
“In the end, there was no intent,” Mr Hoare said quietly.
The men’s families waited four years and 10 months for answers about the accident, a delay that felt like a dismissal of their lost lives, Mr Hoare said.
“Losing our son ... has shattered our lives in ways that words have never fully captured,” Mr Hoare said.
“He was not just a name or statistic; he was our son and our joy.
“Every day (since) his death has been filled with a silence that should not exist and a grief that does not lessen with time.”
Mr Hoare hoped the accident would lead to meaningful safety changes in the skydiving industry.
He called on the state coroner to hold an inquest so that formal recommendations could be made.
SafeWork’s barrister, Darien Nagle, urged the judge to consider the scale of the avoidable tragedy.
“The risk was avoidable, the risk was known,” Mr Nagle said.
Evidence at the trial included a short GoPro video taken by a third solo skydiver, showing Mr Welling grinning as he moved towards the open door of the plane while strapped to Mr Hoare.
The footage showed a black strap getting caught on the protruding step, leaving the pair frantically dangling upside-down mid-air.
The pilot 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.
The men fell when the plane returned to a higher altitude.
Mr Ferrara made a “sincere and unqualified” apology to the men’s families in an affidavit read to the court.
Judge Scotting offered his condolences, saying he lost his sister in tragic circumstances.
“I understand that pain perhaps better than you might appreciate,” the judge said.
Ferrara will be sentenced on April 17.
