Crash pilot 'made previous errors'

The plane was being flown from Sheffield to Shoreham in Sussex

A brain surgeon who crashed his plane into a house had miscalculated fuel levels in the past, a court heard.

Donald Campbell crashed the plane on approach to Shoreham Airport in Sussex, allegedly having miscalculated how much fuel he had put in the plane.

Chichester Crown Court heard on Tuesday he had incorrectly filled in fuel details on his flight log on occasions in the past.

The 55-year-old had also been recommended to improve his flying techniques, the jury was told.

Mr Campbell denies the charges of endangering the safety of an aircraft and endangering the safety of any person or property.

His landings weren't as good as they should have been John Petersen, flying instructor

The surgeon, who lives in High Street, Battle, East Sussex, was flying from Sheffield in Yorkshire to Shoreham Airport near Brighton in April 2001 when the crash happened.

The court heard he had miscalculated the conversion from US gallons to litres when requesting fuel before taking off and asked for 90 litres instead of 113.5 litres.

'Major error'

He crashed his twin-engine Piper Seneca plane into a house in West Street, Shoreham, causing major damage to the building.

The owner, Helen Monaghan, 38, had just left the house to collect her sons Harley, six, and Norton, five, from school, the jury was told.

Mr Campbell is being prosecuted by the Civil Aviation Authority, which recommends aircraft have enough reserves of fuel to cover 45 minutes more flying time than is scheduled.

John Petersen, chief instructor of Sky Leisure Aviation, which rented the plane to Mr Campbell, told the court such a miscalculation of fuel levels would be a considerable mistake.

He said: "It's going to be detrimental to the intended flight.

Eight errors

"It could be a major error, especially if you do not have a reserve."

The court was told that on the first occasion Mr Campbell hired a plane from the firm in January 2001 he made eight errors when filling in the aircraft technical log.

Among the mistakes were getting wrong both the amount of fuel already in the plane and the amount needed for the journey.

Mr Petersen also told the court he had recommended the neurosurgeon practice his landings after a test run.

He said: "His landings weren't as good as they should have been and I recommended he should do a few more circuits before he hired the aircraft."

The case continues.