Big Foot
17th Jul 2007, 23:09
Anyone got any info on a rumour i heard of a 500 crashing near Wanaka, New Zealand recently ?
lostpianoplayer
17th Jul 2007, 23:14
I thought it was a 22, not a 500. I saw the initial police report - definitely no fatalities, sounds like only one (of two) injured at all, and implication was not seriously injured. So not a biggie, by the sounds of it.
Te_Kahu
18th Jul 2007, 00:02
Two helicopters have crashed near Wanaka in less than a week.
A Wanaka pilot yesterday crashed a Robinson 22 helicopter on the Criffel Range– only three days after another Wanaka pilot from Backcountry Helicopters crashed his machine into a river near Makarora.
Constable Mike Johnston, of Wanaka, said two males were extremely lucky to have walked away from yesterday's crash.
However, one was later flown from the scene to Dunstan hospital for treatment. The man was believed to have suffered shoulder and back injuries, Mr Johnston said.
The crash happened about 2pm yesterday after the pilot had picked up his passenger from a nearby airstrip and was about to start mustering a snow-covered tussock face.
The pilot attempted to prevent the crash by heading down a gully and descending to get some lift but the helicopter's skids hit the ground, causing it to flip and land in the bottom of the gully.
Mr Johnston said the pilot was able to use his cellphone to call for help.
Fog in the area had caused reduced visibility at the time of the crash. The helicopter was extensively damaged, he said.
Meanwhile, the helicopter pilot whose machine fell out of the sky into a river near Makarora has pinned the blame on it being Black Friday when he crashed.
The pilot, who declined to give his name, said he was uninjured and the crash was no big deal.
He was using the helicopter to assist with the recovery of a grounded jetboat and it was hovering at about 15m when the engine stopped and the helicopter plunged into the junction of the Wilkin and Makarora rivers, about 65km north of Wanaka, at 1.30pm. He described the crash as more of a "heavy landing".
"It was no big deal. The motor stopped and I had to get it down and it rolled on its side. I didn't even get wet. Black Friday, that was the problem."
The man said he was disappointed the Transport Accident Investigation Commission had released a press release on the crash before completing its investigation.
Commission chief investigator Tim Burfoot said the helicopter was significantly damaged and the pilot was lucky to escape injury.
Investigations are continuing, he said.