Porsche paid engineer to examine Paqpaqli data on crash

A highly qualified engineer was engaged by Porsche to offer his expertise in the wake of the 2015 Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina car crash, with the car manufacturer ultimately footing the bill for his work. Nicholas Durisek, a PhD expert working for Texas-based Dynamics Analysis Group LLC, revealed this when testifying at length via video conference in a two-hour long hearing on Wednesday evening in the compilation of evidence before the Magistrates’ Courts. The questioning was conducted mainly by parte civile lawyer Michael Grech. Dr Durisek explained that he came to Malta on October 13, 2015, for three days, after being contacted by Jeffrey Gates - worldwide attorney for Porsche on products liability - and hired to “work with the Maltese police on this crash”. On arrival, he met the court-appointed expert Martin Bajada and the Police Commissioner. A specialist in crash reconstruction and failure analysis, as well as vehicle dynamics and testing, Dr Durisek inspected both the scene of the accident at the Ħal Farruġ runway, as well as the Porsche Spyder 918 hypercar, owned by Paul Bailey, which had crashed into spectators. All the data – from photos and measurements to a reconstructed...