Pilot died of drowning

Aero GP pilot Gábor Varga was still alive moments after his plane crashed into the sea on Sunday. He died of drowning, an autopsy has revealed.

A police spokesman said the autopsy report states he drowned and ruptured a lung with the pressure. He sustained various other injuries.

A doctor who spoke to The Times said it would take some four minutes for someone to die of drowning. "But you have to keep in mind the probability of damage to the internal organs in this case.

"Not to mention the fact that he would probably have been concussed and lost consciousness on impact."

The magisterial inquiry continued in court behind closed doors yesterday. According to police sources, there is still a long way to go before the dynamics of the incident are established. Mr Varga, a 45-year-old Swedish aerobatics champion, was killed during the very first race of this year's Aero Grand Prix.

The tail of his red-and-blue Yak plane was clipped by the red-and-white Extra 200 of 37-year-old Irish pilot Eddie Goggins, who was flying behind him. Mr Varga's plane, minus its tail, plunged nose first into the sea.

Mr Goggins, a dentist by profession, had a lucky escape, his parachute opening when he was just about to hit the water. He sustained only minor injuries and was released from St Luke's Hospital shortly after treatment.

The Civil Protection Department had said on Sunday that its divers had located the pilot within two minutes at a depth of about 13 metres. He was still strapped in his seat.

The company organising the contest, Flying Aces, issued its first comments on the accident yesterday, offering its condolences to Mr Varga's family.

Jeff Zaltman, the company's managing director said: "Gabor had many friends and admirers around the world and was esteemed for his great flying skills, love of aviation and his exceptional charisma.  

"He will be greatly missed, especially by his fellow pilots and those of us who were blessed to have worked with him."

The organisers have been working closely with the authorities to help with the inquiry, the results of which will be revealed as soon as possible, the company added in its statement.

A second investigation by the Bureau of Air Accident Investigation is also underway.

The bureau seeks to understand the dynamics of air accidents and make recommendations it feels could prevent such mishaps.

The bureau's job is not to apportion blame, said one of the investigators on the board, retired Major Ronald Xuereb. That is the job of the magisterial inquiry. "We are here to understand what happened and make recommendations."

Such recommendations could include revising the conditions for or stopping another grand prix from taking place, the major confirmed. The conclusion of the investigation will not be out any time soon.

"We tend to take longer than a magisterial inquiry since we look at things in more detail," he said.

Should the surviving pilot be found to be criminally liable for the accident by the inquiry he could be charged in court, police sources close to the inquiry said. So far there is nothing to suggest that this is the case. Amateur video clips of the crash have made it round the world and were aired by Euronews and a Canadian news organisation, among other news organisations.