Helicopter Missing Milford
Search for downed helicopter pilot
OLIVIA WANNAN
Last updated 07:04 16/12/2013
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Conditions are to be assessed today to see if the search for the missing pilot of a crashed helicopter can continue, the Rescue Coordination Centre says.
Rescuers were not yet back at the scene this morning, spokeswoman Sarah Brazil said.
The search would depend on crew availability and the weather, she said.
The helicopter crashed near Milford Track and was located just before dusk last night.
Searchers were forced to return to base as the crash site was on steep terrain 838m above sea level. Crews were also restricted by fading light at 9pm and low cloud in the area.
There was no word about the pilot, Brazil said.
The Hughes 500 helicopter was declared missing last night after it failed to arrive at Dumpling Hut on the Milford Track at 5.30pm.
The crash site was found 15 minutes before nightfall in the Glade Burn near the start of the track, near Lake Te Anau.
The pilot was on a cross-country flight from Greenstone Valley, Otago.
Shortly after he was reported missing, the helicopter company launched a search using another helicopter, which was joined by two other aircraft, Brazil said.
Stuff.co.nz