A veteran rescue pilot who died in a helicopter crash during a training exercise at a major airport had more than 14,000 hours of aeronautical experience and was "always about safety".
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An inquest is examining the November 2017 crash at Hobart Airport that killed Rotorlift chief flying instructor Roger Corbin, 57, and injured his pilot-under-instruction John Osborne.
They were practising how to land the helicopter in an emergency without hydraulic systems.
Weather conditions, the effect of wake turbulence from a passenger plane and whether pre-flight briefings occurred are among the inquest's scope.
During her opening address on Monday, counsel assisting the coroner Madeleine Wilson referenced an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report in 2020 that found flight manual hydraulic failure procedures were not followed.
The ATSB found there was no pre-flight briefing between Mr Corbin and Mr Osborne, and the hydraulic cut-off switch showed signs of excessive wear and may have required "multiple actions" to turn the system back on.
Ms Wilson said Mr Corbin had 14,200 hours of aeronautical experience and 1000 hours flying the model of helicopter involved in the crash.
She said Mr Corbin's wife, also a pilot, said he was always about safety and left nothing to chance.
Ms Wilson said the ATSB found there may have been confusion over who had control of the helicopter because there was no pre-flight training briefing.
She said there were southwesterly winds of 20-24km/h, with gusts of up to 39km/h, at the time of the crash.
Hobart Airport traffic controller Anthony Gunton told the inquest the helicopter's descent appeared to be faster than normal.
He said he knew something was wrong when it pitched forward a few seconds before hitting the ground.
The inquest, which is likely to hear from eight witnesses, is expected to run for four days.
Australian Associated Press
