The families of Philip Farrugia and Tadeusz Gorny, who were two of the six victims of the 1995 Piper Lance disappearance, were today awarded €288,000 and €179,200 in damages. The court ordered the two companies involved and the late pilot’s heirs to pay damages.

Philip Farrugia, 43, worked on an oil rig in Libya. Mr Gorny was a Polish biochemist who worked with an inspections services company. They were among the five passengers on board the flight piloted by Carmelo Bartolo. The plane disappeared on its way from Libya to Malta, crashing off the coast of Tunisia. Some of the pilot’s belongings, including his wallet, were fished out of the sea by Tunisian fisherman the following year. Also among the missing persons were 22-year-old Matthew Aquilina, British national Michael Williams, 49, and Irishman Desi Boomer, 38. The plane was owned by Sun Aviation Ltd and the flight was organised by Excelair Ltd.

The victims’ families sued the two companies as well as Mr Bartolo’s heirs. The court ruled that the pilot’s decision to carry out the flight led to the death of six people. Under normal circumstances no planes crashed without the element of human error. Furthermore, Excelair was the company that ordered the trip and Sun Aviation had permitted the use of its aircraft for a commercial flight when it did not have a licence to do so. The pilot was also not licenced to carry out commercial flights.

The court ordered the three parties to pay €288,000 in damages to the Farrugia family and €179,200 to the Gorny family. The amounts were calculated on the victims’ salaries with interest.

Judge Anthony Ellul presided over the case.  Lawyers Joseph Gatt and David Camilleri appeared for the Farrugia family and Lawyer Tanya Sciberras Camilleri appeared for the Gorny family.