Helicopter vanishes in Ureweras (NZ)
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Helicopter vanishes in Ureweras (NZ)
Helicopter vanishes in Ureweras
05 DECEMBER 2001
Rescuers were last night searching for an overdue helicopter and possibly two hunters it went to pick up near Lake Waikaremoana in the Ureweras on Monday.
The pilot, about whom there are no details, left the remote village of Ruatahuna, 45km southeast of Murupura, at about 1.30pm on Monday.
He was to have picked up two hunters who had been stranded 20km north of Lake Waikaremoana since Friday because of bad weather. Previous attempts to lift the hunters out had been unsuccessful.
However, National Search and Rescue mission controller John Seward told NZPA last night the helicopter did not return from the trip.
Wairoa police and five local helicopter operators launched a search for the missing helicopter and the hunters yesterday morning.
It was not known if the hunters had been collected by the helicopter.
Mr Seward said there had been no contact with the missing pilot since the chopper left Ruatahuna.
The Robinson helicopter was equipped with an Electronic Locator Transmitter (ELT), but no distress signal had been received.
Helicopter searchers were yesterday using local knowledge of the area, renowned for its dense bush, to check possible landing spots, huts and rivers.
Rescuers were also checking along possible flight paths to the area where the hunters were located.
A Wairoa police spokesman said they were involved in a land search yesterday, but after dark had withdrawn from the area.
Mr Seward said nine land rescue teams were to search the area today, beginning at first light.
Three helicopters would be involved in the search today.
Weather conditions at the time of the missing helicopter's flight were "not ideal", Mr Seward said, with cloud sitting on the tops of the Urewera Ranges. It was not known how windy it had been.
05 DECEMBER 2001
Rescuers were last night searching for an overdue helicopter and possibly two hunters it went to pick up near Lake Waikaremoana in the Ureweras on Monday.
The pilot, about whom there are no details, left the remote village of Ruatahuna, 45km southeast of Murupura, at about 1.30pm on Monday.
He was to have picked up two hunters who had been stranded 20km north of Lake Waikaremoana since Friday because of bad weather. Previous attempts to lift the hunters out had been unsuccessful.
However, National Search and Rescue mission controller John Seward told NZPA last night the helicopter did not return from the trip.
Wairoa police and five local helicopter operators launched a search for the missing helicopter and the hunters yesterday morning.
It was not known if the hunters had been collected by the helicopter.
Mr Seward said there had been no contact with the missing pilot since the chopper left Ruatahuna.
The Robinson helicopter was equipped with an Electronic Locator Transmitter (ELT), but no distress signal had been received.
Helicopter searchers were yesterday using local knowledge of the area, renowned for its dense bush, to check possible landing spots, huts and rivers.
Rescuers were also checking along possible flight paths to the area where the hunters were located.
A Wairoa police spokesman said they were involved in a land search yesterday, but after dark had withdrawn from the area.
Mr Seward said nine land rescue teams were to search the area today, beginning at first light.
Three helicopters would be involved in the search today.
Weather conditions at the time of the missing helicopter's flight were "not ideal", Mr Seward said, with cloud sitting on the tops of the Urewera Ranges. It was not known how windy it had been.
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Survival tale from horror crash
www.nzoom.com
An amazing tale of survival has emerged from the horror plunge of a helicopter.
A Te Puke hunter has endured two days in the bush, after being injured in a helicopter crash that left two men dead.
He escaped the crash, which claimed the lives of two others.
The crash occurred in the dense forest 20 kilometres north of lake Waikaremoana, near Wairoa on the North Island's East Coast.
Barry Watkins says he is feeling pretty good considering what he has been through.
Watkins and his best mate went hunting on the weekend.
A helicopter flown by another friend, Tony Worsfold, was supposed to lift them out on Monday, but three days later Barry Watkins was carried out of the bush alone.
"It hit a tree and went down, I've lost two good mates," says Watkins.
The conditions near the crash site, deep in the Urewera national park are very dangerous.
"For two days the helicopter could not get into the area because of the weather.. that day was the first available.. for him to get in," says Jim Mclean from the national rescue co-ordination centre.
Low level thick cloud may also have contributed to the crash.
"It's possibly weather related, but we've really got no idea," says rescue pilot Ron Taylor.
Covered in soot from the fire which engulfed the chopper, Watkins was otherwise unscathed, kicking himself free from the wreckage.
"I've got a sore back and chest," he says.
The other un-named hunter was killed in the burning wreckage.
The pilot was thrown free and he survived the crash, but died later in the bush.
After escaping death in the crash, Watkins then focussed on survival.
"He kicked free from it and built a wee bivee where he stayed the night," says paramedic Dennis Turner.
The helicopter was a four seater Robinson r-44.
The civil aviation authority says the family of aircraft is New Zealand's most popular, with 103 flying here.
There have been 18 robinson crashes since 1985, resulting in 23 deaths.
Foul weather has so far prevented air accident investigators from getting to the scene.
While pilot Tony Worsfold's base remains abandoned, with the landing pad empty.
Published on Dec 05, 2001
My condolences to Tony's partner and team at
Rotorua...
[ 05 December 2001: Message edited by: Cypher ]
www.nzoom.com
An amazing tale of survival has emerged from the horror plunge of a helicopter.
A Te Puke hunter has endured two days in the bush, after being injured in a helicopter crash that left two men dead.
He escaped the crash, which claimed the lives of two others.
The crash occurred in the dense forest 20 kilometres north of lake Waikaremoana, near Wairoa on the North Island's East Coast.
Barry Watkins says he is feeling pretty good considering what he has been through.
Watkins and his best mate went hunting on the weekend.
A helicopter flown by another friend, Tony Worsfold, was supposed to lift them out on Monday, but three days later Barry Watkins was carried out of the bush alone.
"It hit a tree and went down, I've lost two good mates," says Watkins.
The conditions near the crash site, deep in the Urewera national park are very dangerous.
"For two days the helicopter could not get into the area because of the weather.. that day was the first available.. for him to get in," says Jim Mclean from the national rescue co-ordination centre.
Low level thick cloud may also have contributed to the crash.
"It's possibly weather related, but we've really got no idea," says rescue pilot Ron Taylor.
Covered in soot from the fire which engulfed the chopper, Watkins was otherwise unscathed, kicking himself free from the wreckage.
"I've got a sore back and chest," he says.
The other un-named hunter was killed in the burning wreckage.
The pilot was thrown free and he survived the crash, but died later in the bush.
After escaping death in the crash, Watkins then focussed on survival.
"He kicked free from it and built a wee bivee where he stayed the night," says paramedic Dennis Turner.
The helicopter was a four seater Robinson r-44.
The civil aviation authority says the family of aircraft is New Zealand's most popular, with 103 flying here.
There have been 18 robinson crashes since 1985, resulting in 23 deaths.
Foul weather has so far prevented air accident investigators from getting to the scene.
While pilot Tony Worsfold's base remains abandoned, with the landing pad empty.
Published on Dec 05, 2001
My condolences to Tony's partner and team at
Rotorua...
[ 05 December 2001: Message edited by: Cypher ]
Was Tony flying out of the property on the way to the Lake Tarawera/Rotomahana cruise and the tourist place near Tarawera?
Its been a while since I was home and I forget the Maori area name. (Atiamuri???)
I once tried to operate a 300 out of that property doing the same stuff.
Its been a while since I was home and I forget the Maori area name. (Atiamuri???)
I once tried to operate a 300 out of that property doing the same stuff.
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Tragic - condolences to family and friends
Are the www.nzoom.com story Robinson statistics correct ie 18 deaths in 23 crashes ? It seems like a very high number in absolute terms and in terms of chances of surviving a crash. Or do they not include low level bumps etc.
Are the www.nzoom.com story Robinson statistics correct ie 18 deaths in 23 crashes ? It seems like a very high number in absolute terms and in terms of chances of surviving a crash. Or do they not include low level bumps etc.
