THE wife of a Dorset millionaire lawyer who was killed in a helicopter crash will not be giving evidence at an inquest next week.

Passenger and owner of the helicopter Stephen Curtis, 45, from Portland died in the crash, which took place in appalling weather conditions on March 3, 2004.

The pilot, Max Radford, the 34-year-old chief instructor and co-owner of Hurn-based Red Aviation, also died instantly. Their bodies had to be identified from DNA.

Yesterday it was revealed that Mr Curtis' wife, Sarah, is not being called as a witness during the three-day inquest at Bournemouth Town Hall on October 31. District coroner Sheriff Payne will be joined by a jury to hear details of the horrific crash which happened a mile from Bournemouth Airport.

The inquest will examine the possible causes of the crash and the jury will be asked to reach a verdict.

A study by the Air Accident Investigation Branch of the Civil Aviation Authority concluded the cause of the crash was pilot error.

Its report, released this summer, said: "During the final stages of the approach the pilot probably became disorientated due to a loss of visual references when attempting to fly by sole reference to his flight instruments or limited ground lights or a combination of both.

"The pilot's limited instrument flying background did not equip him to cope with the difficult situation in which he found himself."

Mr Curtis was managing director of Group Menatep, a £16 billion holidng company which has interests in the Russian oil industry.

He lived at Portland with his wife, Sarah, and 13-year-old daughter Louise.

First published: October 25