A mother and daughter who both lost their husbands in a light aircraft crash in Sligo Bay have been awarded more than €550,000 damages by the High Court in their action against a US-based company which allegedly supplied the men with the defective aircraft.
Payment of the damages will have to be pursued in the US and Mr Justice Daniel Herbert predicted there would be "a lot of hurdles" to be overcome.
It is claimed the crash probably occurred as a result of a fuel cap becoming detached during flight and damaging a propeller, resulting in a loss of control of the aircraft, which, the court heard, was bought second-hand for some €7,000.
Jessica Murray (37), a mother of two young children and acting on behalf of most of the dependants of both deceased, took proceedings against Rans Inc, with an address in Kansas, US, which allegedly supplied the aircraft, in which her husband, Fionn Murray (33), and her father, Holger Schiller, perished on May 30th, 1998.
Rans Inc did not enter an appearance in the proceedings and, in those circumstances, judgment was awarded against the company by order of the High Court in February 2002. In correspondence with the court, Rans denied any wrongdoing.
The case came before Mr Justice Herbert yesterday for an assessment of damages only. Andrew Sexton, counsel for Ms Murray, said it was "a case of tragedy". Ms Murray had lost her husband and father in the same crash and at the time one of her two children was aged less than a year and the second less than three years.
The judge heard evidence from Ms Murray, of Cartron Lane, Ballinful, Co Sligo, and from her mother, Erica Schiller, of Ardtarmon Castle, Ballinful, as to the financial consequences of the loss of their husbands.
He was told that most of the dependants of Ms Murray and Mr Schiller had waived their entitlements to damages in the case in favour of Ms Murray and Ms Schiller. In remarks to an actuary, the judge said the aircraft was "not really an aircraft at all" but rather "a glorified car". He awarded €550,000 in damages.
In letters to the High Court, Rans denied any wrongdoing. It also said it was unable to obtain product liability insurance on kit aircraft which, it said, meant there was "no insurance policy to pay anyone".
