Call for radios on gliders after NSW death

A coroner has recommended all gliders be fitted with radios following the death of a pilot in a mid-air collision in the NSW Southern Tablelands.

Andrew Ahern died instantly on April 27, 2013, when his craft collided during take-off with another glider coming in to land near Goulburn.

The airfield in question was operated by Southern Tablelands Gliding Club (STGC) which had decided that day to use one of its runways for both launching and landing because stock had been grazing on its other runway and it hadn't been mown.

The inquest has been told the view from the incoming glider may have been obscured by pine trees close to the landing area.

Coroner Mary Jerram said it was clear radios on the gliders were not functioning properly or not used correctly.

She recommended on Friday that the Gliding Federation of Australia give consideration to requiring that all gliders be equipped with appropriate dual-band VHF radios and that the landing and launching of gliders be kept separate.

Ms Jerram said club members may have become "over-confident and complacent" in keeping up with technological changes in the sport.

"The entire procedure (that led to the crash) depended on fairly amateur rules and traditions, which were subject to human error at any time," Ms Jerram said.

She said "time and time again", the inquest had heard evidence of "confusion" about who held ultimate responsibility over safety procedures.

"Surely, when anything becomes the responsibility of all, it is in fact the responsibility of none," she said.

"But no individual can be blamed for any specific failure or act leading to the collision."

Ms Jerram said it was "utterly clear" the launch site was too close to the hazardous pine trees and that some other decision could have been made about opening the second strip.