The director of a ballooning company has pleaded guilty after a tourist's death near Alice Springs.

Thirty-five-year-old Sydney woman Stephanie Bernoth suffered fatal injuries when her scarf was sucked into an inflation fan while she attempted to board a hot air balloon near Alice Springs. 

A 2015 Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) inquiry found an ineffective mesh and steel tubing guard around the inflation fan's blades.

In court this week, defence counsel John Stirk pointed out that compensation was awarded to Ms Bernoth’s family in 2014, but Judge Greg Borchers said the matter was still moving too slowly.

“This has not been advanced one iota. We are back exactly where we would have been in 2015 if your client would have pleaded guilty and the family still awaits the outcome of this,” he told the court. 

The legal dispute has been highly complex, playing out across the NT Local Court and Supreme Court as well as the High Court.

The matter returned to the Local Court in 2019 after the High Court found that NT Work Safe could pursue charges, and Outback Ballooning was ordered to pay costs.

The earlier ATSB report found that Outback Ballooning has improved the safety of its fans and established a passenger exclusion zone during loading since the accident.

Also, it now has an additional crew member whose sole duty is to operate and oversee the fan's use. 

The matter will return to court on July 22 for a sentencing hearing.