The owner of Cotswold Airport has been found guilty of safety breaches following the death of the airport’s fire chief, who was killed when he was struck by a 5ft high, 10-stone high-pressure gas cylinder, which unexpectedly discharged.
Steve Mills, 45, from Malmesbury, had worked at the airport on the Gloucestershire/ Wiltshire border for two years prior to the incident on April 8, 2011.
Mr Mills was found by a colleague with catastrophic head injuries and a subsequent investigation found a safety cap, which would have prevented the gas escaping, had not been fitted to the cylinder.
The airport’s owner, Kemble Air Services Ltd, pleaded not guilty to failing to make suitable and sufficient risk assessments of the danger to both employees and non-employees at the aerodrome.
During the six-day trial Mr Mills was described by colleagues as competent and experienced, and the jury at Gloucester Crown Court heard how the cylinder was like a “large and fatal Catherine wheel” as it span out of control at high speed.
The prosecution said before anything was done with the containers and their contents, Kemble Air Services should have produced a full risk assessment.
The jury believed the prosecution’s case that, at the time of the accident, there was nothing at the airport to tell Mr Mills how to move the cylinder safely, and nothing to identify the hazards of gas inside.
A spokesperson for the company, Suzannah Harvey, said they were disappointed with the verdict as they had believed no assessment was needed.
“Deep down I don’t believe we failed Steve in any way, but obviously the jury came back with the verdict that they thought was appropriate,” she said.
“We still miss him dearly at the airport every day. He was part of the family and it has hit us all very hard.”
A four-day inquest in 2012 had concluded that Mr Mills’ death was an accident.
After the verdict, his father Alan said: “In my opinion no individual is responsible for the death of my son. It was a series of minor irregularities, leading up to a major event resulting in an accident.
“His attitude in life was to achieve perfection on anything he undertook to complete. Time is a good healer but Stephen will be sorely missed for many years to come.”
Prosecutor Simon Morgan said prosecution costs would exceed £104,000.
Sentencing was adjourned to a date to be fixed.
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