With regards to this accident the flight was a (supposed to be) simple transfer from Wellington to Masterton, up and over the Rimitukas to pick up a patient sometime between 12.00am and 1.00am (not sure of exact time). For some reason the helicopter hit the top of the trees on the top of the mountain range and needless to say the difference between being here and not being here was about 4 inches.
Yes she did a good job re getting the machine down on the ground at Hood Aerodrome safely, albeit missing one whole skid section and one of the rear stabs. But a couple of questions have to be asked:
1. Why was she so low that she hit the trees in the first place, especially during night operations.
2. Were there any contributing factors that caused the aircraft to be so low at that point.
My personal opinion is that the term "hero" doesnt really apply in this case, at least not until the full facts are known, because it MAY have been pilot error that caused the accident in the first place, or, the term could be aptly applied if in fact there was some sort of mechanical problem prior to the impact.
These are only personal opinions.
AB