Drugs riddle of air crash pilot

Niall Gover

A FATHER-OF-TWO who “packed everything into his life” had traces of cannabis in his system when his aircraft crashed on Saddleworth Moor.

Niall Gover (41) died instantly when the two-seater CTSW microlight plummeted in poor weather conditions.

The ex-Army man (pictured) was found in the wreckage by farmer Christopher Crowther close to the A635 Isle of Skye Road, Greenfield, on October 8, 2008.

An inquest heard yesterday how a metabolite in his blood indicated that he had used cannabis at some stage, but not in the hours before his death.

Mr Gover, from Stockport, was said to be staunchly anti-drugs. No explanation was given for the presence of the chemical.

Coroner Simon Nelson said: “It would be wrong for me to include within my decision any suggestion as to the influence of toxicology findings without having definitive evidence.”

Mr Gover was flying from Barton Aerodrome to a small private airstrip in Oakham, Rutland. However, he became embroiled in poor weather conditions at 3,000ft.

Tim Atkinson, a senior inspector from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, told the inquest that Mr Gover’s chief flying instructor had concerns about his judgement of weather.

The aircraft did not have instruments to fly in poor visibility.

Mr Atkinson said: “The picture is very clearly one of good conditions near Manchester, but with cloud, strong winds and very poor visibility over Saddleworth Moor.”

The court also heard that Mr Gover’s pilot’s licence had expired five months before his death. He didn’t have a radio licence either. Mr Atkinson described those breaches as “technical offences” which “did not cause or contribute to the accident”.

Mr Gover’s father, Peter, an RAF jet instructor, said his son had left the Army in 2000 after being wrongly accused of cannabis use following routine drugs tests.

“It was overthrown because the samples were mislabelled,” he said. “It was somebody else’s sample.”

Mr Gover owned Orchards Day Nursery in Heaton Moor with his partner Sharon Mills, who said that he “packed everything into his life”.

Ms Mills said: “He couldn’t stand drugs at all. I am still surprised at the result.”

Mr Gover leaves children Charlotte (7) and four-year-old Max.

Coroner Simon Nelson recorded a verdict of accidental death.