Cox v Mid-Coast Council

The appellant, Cox, brought proceedings against the respondent, Mid-Coast Council, alleging negligence after suffering injury in a mid-air collision between a light aircraft and a Ferris wheel. The incident occurred as the appellant was landing at an unregulated aircraft landing area. The primary legal question before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales was whether the appellant's harm resulted from the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity, as contemplated by the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW).

The court was required to determine the appropriate level of generality at which to characterise the risk of harm. Specifically, it needed to assess whether the risk of colliding with obstructions in the splay of the landing area was an obvious risk associated with the appellant's recreational activity. The court also considered whether the appellant's knowledge of the risk was relevant to the determination of obviousness.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the appellant was engaged in the dangerous recreational activity of landing at an unregulated aircraft landing area. It found that the risk of colliding with obstructions within the landing splay was an obvious risk, meaning a risk that, to a reasonable person in the position of the appellant, would have been apparent. The court held that the appellant's harm resulted from the manifestation of this obvious risk, as the Ferris wheel constituted such an obstruction. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.