The owner of the company Captain David Wood worked for would have considered using a helicopter to pull the wedged pilot from the icy crevasse, but it was an option that carried risks, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
William English, the managing director of Helicopter Resources, gave evidence at the inquest into the pilot's death on Wednesday.
Mr Wood, 62, was one of two pilots flying solo in two helicopters on the mission to restock a fuel cache on January 11, 2016.
When Mr Wood stepped off the helicopter and into the crevasse, he became tightly wedged. The second pilot, Paul Sutton, could not see him, but the line used to sling load drums had also fallen in.
Counsel assisting the coroner, James Stewart, asked Mr English if Mr Wood had been able to communicate with the other pilot, and tell him the line was wrapped safely around his body, would he have tried to lift him out of the crevasse with the helicopter.
Mr English, also a pilot, said he would "certainly give it some thought".
"Is it risk free or risk full?" Mr Stewart asked.
"Risk full," came the reply.
The inquest has heard Mr Wood was stuck in the crevasse for four hours while Mr Sutton returned to Davis station for help.
Also on Wednesday, the court heard the two pilots had identified a crevasse at the western ice shelf fuel cache in December 2015.
They told Sharon Labudda, the operations commander, about the crevasse, but noone recorded the risks in any documents.
About a week before Mr Wood died, snow fell on the ice shelf and concealed the crevasse, the inquest heard.
The cache site had been selected by another pilot earlier in December, without someone assessing its safety.
The police officer who investigated Mr Wood's death, first constable Rebecca Wenham, recommended more appropriate reporting of crevasse risks and review of the policy for choosing sites.
The officer also recommended field training officers - survival and rescue specialists with the Australian Antarctic Division - be trained in treating hypothermia, and involved in mission planning.
The fuel drop was planned for after 2pm Antarctica time, which the court heard was a couple of hours after the sun hit its highest point, given the amount of daylight in summer on the continent.
That meant it would be difficult to see a crevasse from the air.
Constable Wenham said the timing of the refuelling mission did not give the pilots the best chance of reconnaissance of the site.
The court also heard Mr Wood had circled left to land his helicopter after dropping off the fuel drums on the ice shelf.
Mr English said there were reasons to circle right in that situation.
One was to look down at the landing site from the right hand pilot's side window. Another was because the sun was on the left and turning left would have made it harder to see shadows and textures.
Counsel assisting, Mr Stewart, asked if circling left revealed a lack of carefullness on Mr Wood's part, but Mr English said he wouldn't go that far. He also didn't agree it showed overconfidence.
The inquest on Wednesday saw photographs of the clothing Mr Wood was wearing when he fell into the crevasse, including long pants, a t-shirt and a long-sleeved fleece top.
He was not wearing the protective survival clothing he had been issued by the Australian Antarctic Division, the court heard.
Mr English said the pilots to wore what was comfortable.
He said in summer temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Celsius and the cockpits got warm with sun streaming through the windows.
Another pilot told the court the gear made it difficult to see through the helicopter's floor window and down to the load being carried.
Wearing protective gear is now mandatory, the court heard, and efforts were being made to source more functional equipment.
The inquest continues before Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker.
