High Court weighs in on skydiving club dispute with IAA at airfield in Kilkenny

The High Court has ruled that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) was justified in issuing a grounding order for an aircraft at Kilkenny Airfield and suspending a pilot’s licence after IAA inspectors made an unannounced inspection to the local airfield.

The latest chapter in a prolonged disagreement over regulatory oversight at the local airfield has played out in the High Court, where the judge indicated he proposes to refuse the reliefs sought by two applicants.

Kilkenny Live has previously reported growing frustration with the club after many skydives that had been booked did not go ahead.

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Members of the club have been continually reaching out to this publication, describing cancellations at short notice and explaining how they were still left waiting for refunds as the club became embroiled in legal proceedings.

In a judgment delivered electronically late last month, the court described the first applicant (Irish Skydiving Club CLG) as “a company limited by guarantee’ operating a club involved in “skydiving and parachuting” from “an airfield in County Kilkenny”.

It stated that the club “charters two G8 Airvan planes… registered in the United Kingdom.”

The second applicant (Eoin Nevin), the court noted, “holds a private pilot’s licence issued by the respondent,” is “a director of the first applicant,” and also holds “the position of administrator within the club.”

The court described the IAA as “the competent authority for the purpose of EU regulations.”

The judgment explained that “ramp inspections” are “spot checks of aircraft while they are on the ground” and “unannounced safety assessments of the aircraft, its crew, and its operation in the live operational environment.”

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On August 26 2022, three Irish Aviation Authority representatives arrived at the Kilkenny airfield at “14:00 hours” and sought documents including the pilot’s licence and aircraft certificates.

The inspectors requested the checklist required for parachute operations; the judgment records the pilot said the checklist was being updated and returned with “a single page document” as the checklist.

Following that inspection, findings recorded on the Proof of Ramp Inspection form included: “No checklists available for type of operation (parachuting)…; unapproved checklist in use by PIC; out of date aeronautical chart…; markings and/ or placards missing or unreadable.”

The judgment states a second inspection took place on September 16, 2022.

It records that the pilot said he would not participate until his legal representative arrived, and that the inspectors formed the view they had been refused access to the aircraft.

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The inspectors called for gardaí to be present before communicating a grounding order.

The court noted that after a later announced inspection in March 2023, the aircraft “was deemed airworthy for normal operations” and “the grounding order was lifted.”

In its conclusions, the court held that the IAA “had the power… to carry out the ramp inspections on August 26 2022 and September 16 2022,” and that there was “no legal impediment” to carrying out unannounced ramp inspections in the circumstances described.

On the conduct of the inspections, the court found the IAA’s representatives “acted reasonably and lawfully” during the first inspection, and “again acted lawfully and reasonably” during the second.

Addressing the pilot’s position that the second inspection should not proceed pending the arrival of legal representation, the court held that those being regulated “do not have the right to defer or suspend the inspection until their legal adviser should attend.”

The court held the IAA had legal authority to ground the aircraft on September 16 2022 and found the grounding order “was justified.”

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It also held the IAA “acted lawfully in provisionally suspending the second applicant’s licence on September 23 2022.”

The court stated it was “not satisfied that the applicants are entitled to any of the reliefs sought,” and proposed that the final order should be to “refuse the reliefs sought.”

The matter was listed for mention at 10.30am on January 28, 2026 for the purpose of making final orders.

The implications that the outcome of this judgment may have for the future of the skydiving club — as well as those customers still waiting on refunds — remain unclear at present.

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