Witnesses break down in tears at inquest into death of Claire Lomas

The hearing, at County Hall in Leicester, was told that Claire was seriously injured when attempting to land a microlight aircraft during filming for an Apple TV documentary in Jordan, in the Middle East, in July 2024.

She sadly passed away in hospital just over five weeks later with a post mortem finding that the cause of death was due to ‘multiple severe traumatic injuries’.

Claire, who was 44 and from Eye Kettleby, near Melton, raised nearly £1M from a series of gruelling fundraising activities despite being paralysed from the chest down in a riding accident back in 2007.

She had been signed up by Atlantic Productions to fly her microlight over the ancient city of Petra because of her personality and ability to achieve remarkable things despite being disabled.

The inquest heard that Claire had done several test flights to get used to the heat and terrain but the accident happened on the first day she had filmed with the camera rigged to the microlight, on July 15.

Lina Zilinskaite, a senior producer with Atlantic Productions, wept as she recalled the moment Claire came in to land on a closed off tarmac road after flying over Petra.

She told the hearing: “I raised my phone to film but I never pressed record because I felt she wasn't quite straight as she came in to land.

“I just remember that she then veered off the runway and I heard this noise.”

The inquest was told that Claire’s aircraft had struck a large rock at the side of the runway and she was taken to hospital by a stand-by ambulance crew at the scene before being airlifted to the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, Jordan’s capital city, where she passed away on August 22, 2024.

Filming had been due to start the day before, on July 14, but conditions were deemed too windy to fly safely.

Ms Zilinskaite said it had been agreed that filming should take place early in the morning, between 6am and 9am, or later in the day, when it was much cooler.

She visited the runway site about 4am with crew members and Ben Ashman, an experienced microlight pilot, who had adapted Claire’s aircraft so she could operate it with her hands with her not being able to use traditional foot controls. He also acted as a guide pilot to fly ahead of Claire to assess conditions.

Ms Zilinskaite told the inquest that Mr Ashman had raised concerns about Claire’s willingness to fly because she had posted on Facebook the night before that she needed to ‘put her brave pants on’.

"He thought she might be feeling nervous,” she said.

“We agreed to go to the hotel and chat with her about this,

“I didn’t want her to feel pressure with 60 people waiting to film.

“Claire was absolutely sure that she wanted to fly.

“We asked her about her Facebook post and she said it was something she said before any adventure.”

Mr Ashman told the hearing that Claire’s Facebook post had concerned him and that ‘it wasn’t the answer I expected’ when she told them the following morning she was happy to fly.

But he said Claire’s microlight had been rigorously tested to fly with the 10kg camera, with input from one of the country’s leading stress analysts for microlights.

Mr Ashman took off ahead of Claire and they flew over the ancient monastery, the Petra ruins, the hillside walls and the tombs before he landed shortly before she made her approach.

He told the inquest that video footage, in his opinion, shows Claire attempting to abort the landing and take off again – known as a ‘go-around’ in aviation – because she wasn’t lined up properly on the runway.

He became tearful when giving evidence, saying: “The key issue was Claire not being lined up for landing – I can’t explain it.”

Ben Bradley, legal representative for the Lomas family, suggested to Mr Ashman that Claire’s adapted aircraft was more difficult to operate than one with controls for able bodied pilots.

He also said she would have likely found it more challenging in hot conditions and flying over rocky terrain, as well as having the extra weight of the camera on board, compared to flights in the UK, where she had recorded 150 hours of flying experience.

Mr Ashman said Claire’s microlight had been tested on multiple flights with a dummy camera and that the accident could have happened on any runway.

Louise Pinder, the senior coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, told the hearing none of Claire’s family were present at the inquest because they felt it was ‘too painful’ with the second anniversary of her death approaching.

Her husband, Dan Pincer, daughters Maisie and Chloe, and parents Martin and Joyce, had flown to Jordan with Claire for the filming.

The inquest heard that the Lomas family has raised concerns about her treatment at the medical centre in Amman but only limited information had been made available for the inquest, despite a formal approach being made through the Commonwealth Office.

Ms Pinder asked the family’s legal team to pass on her condolences to the Lomas family.

The inquest continues. It is expected to run until tomorrow (Thursday).