Helicopter pilot David Wood died of hypothermia in Antarctica, inquest hears

For Captain David Wood, 62, the remote continent was not about adventure, his wife Mary Macdonald told an inquest into his death on Tuesday in an emotional statement.

"Risk was not a thrill for David," she said.

He was one of the best pilots in Canada, and worked across the north American continent, China and Australia, she said. He fought fires from the air and flew a helicopter for a news network.

She acknowledged the role of the inquest, but also said that, in this case, Mr Wood was "very much alive" during the ordeal that lead to his death. "So it's important he remains front and centre."

On January 11, 2016, during a routine mission to restock a fuel cache on the western ice shelf, Mr Wood landed to retrieve equipment. He stepped out of the helicopter and into the concealed crevasse, where he became wedged between the ice.

"Lady Luck was on David's side that day and he knew it," Ms Macdonald told the inquest on Tuesday. "He could survive this."

The weather was clear, she said. There was plenty of daylight. The terrain was flat and accessible. Mr Wood had not fallen to his death and was uninjured, save for a few scrapes and bruises.

There was a risk his body would melt the ice holding him in place, but he also had a grip on a long line that had fallen in with him.

His pilot colleague, in one of many decisions by his colleagues to be scrutinised in the inquest, left him alone to return to Davis station, some 166 kilometres away, for help.

The pilot returned with a search and rescue team of three who retrieved Mr Wood from the crevasse, four hours after he fell.

He was responsive at this point, the inquest heard.

After another hour Mr Wood was back at Davis station.

Through the night and the next 18 hours, doctors, instructed by a specialist in Tasmania with expertise in polar medicine and rewarming, treated Mr Wood. When his body warmed, doctors gave him adrenaline and CPR but were unable to revive him.

A post mortem found Mr Wood died of hypothermia on January 12, 2016, said counsel assisting the coroner, James Stewart.

Mr Stewart opened the inquest on Tuesday by acknowledging the unique work environment of the Antarctic. "The continent is unforgiving and hostile to human survival," he said.

The inquest is being heard in Canberra because ACT laws apply to the Australian Antarctic Territory, and its courts have jurisdiction.

The inquest, to hear evidence over some three weeks, will scrutinise the decisions made by Mr Wood's colleagues and doctors throughout his rescue and care.

The time it took to retrieve Mr Wood will also be under the microscope, as will the choice of equipment and personnel sent on the rescue, and the adequacy of Mr Wood's clothing.

Ms Macdonald told the inquiry people often asked if she worried about Mr Wood's trips to Antarctica. "That is the one place I know he is the safest," she would tell them. She said she had assumed safety standards there were among the best.

But, she told the court, the inefficiency of the system that day pushed Mr Wood deeper and deeper into the crevasse.

"If there is change for the better," she said, "that is a good thing."

She described her family's angst over the way they were dealt with during the rescue and resuscitation. She said she had to demand to speak to Mr Wood, but was distressed to read in a later report that she had been described as abusive.

There are unique elements to investigating an Antarctic death, the court heard. The station leader at Davis, William de Bruyn, also had the role of investigating officer and deputy coroner. He will be a witness in the inquest.

The AFP officer who took up the investigation said she had been unable to go to Antarctica, despite being able and willing. First constable Rebecca Wenham described how that made it hard for her to understand what had happened on the isolated continent.

The inquest continues before Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker.