People speaking out of turn
Its very interesting to read the comments here. I see a lot of people seem eager to comment before any thought to what the details are or any investigation on the incident.
Firstly the news if anyone cared to read it would of clarified that it was a tour operation and not anything to do with deer recovery.
Secondly: The operator has the best per flight hour record in NZ for helicopters.
Now I dont really have much time for England either, So fairs fairs for the UK people saying bad things about NZ.. You wouldnt know a mountain if it kicked you in the ass if you are wondering why anyone would tip up on one. It happens all the time all over the world because the flying is high alt and weather conditions are challenging.
Both pilots are very experienced and like all pilots have the ability to make mistakes or not be able to control the situation enough to see all the possible out comes of each decision.
I dont believe the critics here deserve an explanation due to the utter poor intelligence they have shown in their comments.
I dont really care if the pilot or any pilot has made a mistake, As a pilot I know my turn is either about to come or I have already had it many times before now or soon after now.
My thoughts and prays are with the family and Pilot primarily while we hope he is able to make it out of his current condition alive.
My second efforts are to recover the situation and keep a positive way forward from any of the accidents any helicopters are involved in period.
And finally NZ like all countries has good and bad operators, Some are some of the best in the world and some are the worst. NZ has a passion for flying like no country I have been to for the number of people.
This company that had the crash, These pilots that were involved in the incident are some of the best I know world wide. Both strive every day for excellence and achieve it a large part of the time, Both were doing their best on the day when the situation didnt go to plan and one helicopter due to wind has ended in a situation where it drifted too close to the other helicopter in white landscape conditions with minimal reference(for those people who know snow landings).
There is no doubt a mistake has been made, But this is not one of absolute stupidity or arrogance, It was just a bad day where the odds court up with them and the thousands of snow landings they do each year to provide a perfect storm resulting in an accident.
People who fly, I hope you remember. Dont throw stones if you live in glass houses. Your day is coming I am absolutely assured of it, And the more you pass judgement and try make out these two pilots to be stupid, The more assured I am that your day is even sooner than you think.
Cheers to all those who have something positive to say and have genuine interest in the well being of the people involved and how they can learn from it.