Story from Stuff.co.nz report, also reported in the New Zealand Herald
Aviation company owner charged over 1998 helicopter crash
An aviation company owner has been charged with having main rotor blades past their use-by date on a helicopter that crashed.
The Robinson R22 went down in the Taupo area in March 1998, plunging 100m into dense bush.
Two men on a hunting expedition walked away virtually unscathed.
Peter Maloney, 48, of Dairy Flat, north of Auckland, the owner of Aviation Classics Ltd, has appeared in North Shore District Court on a charge of endangering transport.
Maloney is also accused of fraudulent use of a maintenance log book.
A hearing has been set down for next month.
The police maintain that the rotor blades had exceeded their finite life of 2000 hours by 111.5 hours when the crash happened.
It is alleged that the maintenance log was altered to allow an extra 600 hours flying time before the rotor blades and spindles were serviced and/or replaced.