Commonwealth found guilty of Antarctic pilot David Wood's 2016 death

The Commonwealth has been found guilty of two charges over the 2016 death of a helicopter pilot in Antarctica.

Mr Wood died after he fell into a crevasse during a routine fuel drop on the Western Ice Shelf.

The 62-year-old was rescued but died hours later from severe hypothermia.

While Mr Wood's employer, Helicopter Resources, was also charged, the company was cleared of wrongdoing in relation to his death.

The Commonwealth Environment Department and Helicopter Resources, which was contracted by the government, were each charged with three counts of breaching of federal work health and safety laws in the ACT Industrial Court.

The maximum penalty for each charge is $1.5 million.

At a June hearing, lawyers for the government argued individual responsibility should not be ignored, and heard evidence pilots were under instruction to turn back if they thought the area was dangerous and snow-covered.

The court heard it was not so straightforward to say more planning should have been undertaken before Mr Wood went out.

But in his decision, Acting Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston rejected that argument, finding the Commonwealth, through the Australian Antarctic Division, was the subject matter expert on operations in Antarctica.

"This extended to where fuel cache sites should be located and what methods should be employed to assess the suitability of those sites before pilots were tasked to land and walk on those sites for the purpose of refuelling and/or collecting their sling hardware."

He found the Commonwealth guilty on two counts but cleared it of a third.

"I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the extant measures did not meet the health and safety duty. I therefore find that in relation to the first and third flights, the Commonwealth failed to comply with its health and safety duty."

Employer was not aware of crevasse risk: magistrate

In clearing Helicopter Resources of wrongdoing, he found that, unlike the Antarctic Division, the company could not assess the likelihood of crevasses at the site or know all the ways to minimise the risk of falling into a hidden crevasse.

"Much of that information was with the AAD and not with Helicopter Resources.

Mr Theakston said that was specialist knowledge and found it was reasonable for Mr Wood's employer to rely upon the expertise of the Antarctic Division for Antarctic operations.

"In all the circumstances, I am not persuaded beyond reasonable doubt that it was reasonably practicable for Helicopter Resources to have insisted upon the specified measures being conducted before permitting its pilots to land and walk on remote sites."

The Commonwealth will face a sentencing hearing for the guilty verdicts next year.

In a statement Mr Wood's wife, Mary Macdonald, said her husband's workplace death was preventable and justice had prevailed.

"It has always been and always will be the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe workplace," she said.

"It is our hope that this judgement will shine a spotlight on employers in both the private and public sectors and serve as a reminder to them that safety always comes first.

"We wish to thank those who have worked toward this just outcome."