The court was informed that two skydivers became entangled on a plane before tragically falling to their deaths, as crucial safety procedures were neglected before the disastrous jump.

SafeWork NSW has filed charges against Goulburn Flight Training Centre and its sole director, Attilio Giovanni Ferrara, also known as John Ferrara, accusing them of breaching workplace safety obligations.

Ferrara is facing a 10-day judge-alone hearing in the NSW District Court in Sydney.

A brief GoPro video captured by a fellow skydiver showed Welling grinning with anticipation as he approached the plane’s open door, secured to Hoare.

The men were captured sitting on the edge of the open door for a few seconds before they attempted to launch.

The vision showed a black strap getting caught on the exterior of the plane, leaving the men dangling upside-down mid-air.

One of the men can be heard swearing before the camera follows the course of the skydiver who went on to land safely.

The prosecuting barrister, Darien Nagle, noted that a metal step was recently installed on the Cessna aircraft—owned by Ferrara’s son’s business—to aid tandem skydives.

The trial would hear evidence the risks of snagging on the step had been identified in the flight training centre’s own documents, Nagle said.

He emphasized that the lack of a “buddy check” on the equipment prior to the jump failed to detect the loose webbing that led to the snagging incident.

Nagle stated in his opening remarks, “It was always apparent and understood that these kinds of steps, along with unchecked webbing, could result in devastating outcomes.”

The addition of steps on Cessna skydiving planes was common practice across the industry to help launch parachuters clear of the aircraft.

Similar metal steps were removed from other planes after the men’s deaths.

“It is, of course, an absolute tragedy these types of safety measures have to be taken after an incident like this,” Nagle said.

The men’s families left the courtroom while footage of the snagging incident was played.

Barrister Maurice Baroni, representing Ferrara and his company, indicated there would be parts of the evidence in dispute, including whether the flight centre was correctly identified as the corporate defendant.

Under cross-examination, SafeWork NSW inspector Narelle O’Brien acknowledged several of the company’s employees referred to it as Adrenaline Skydive rather than Goulburn Flight Training Centre.

But she nominated the centre as the corporate defendant, based partly on documents that identified it as the entity that paid various skydiving instructors.

The trial continues before Judge Andrew Scotting.