Heliflight (NZ) 2nd crash in 7 months
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Turangi
Age: 65
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Heliflight (NZ) 2nd crash in 7 months
Thursday, 24 July 2003
A Hughes 500 D owned by Amalgamated Helicopters brings the damaged Heli-Flight Hughes 300 in to land after a salvage operation in the Tararuas. Picture by SANDY PARKINSON
A Masterton-based helicopter training school had its second crashed helicopter this year when a Hughes 300 went down in the Tararua Ranges at midday yesterday.
The Hughes 300 rolled when completing a landing on the snow-covered Mitre Peak while on a routine training flight. The two occupants escaped injury.
This is not the first accident involving the Heli-flight training programme. On January 17 this year a Heli-Flight trainee died when the Robinson 22 Helicopter he was piloting crashed into a barley field northeast of Hood Aerodrome near Masterton.
The Civil Aviation Authority will investigate the crash and corporate communications manager Bill Sommer says because there was no serious consequences it would be a “desk-top” investigation. “ We will talk to the guy and find out what happened and try and make sure it doesn’t happen in the future.” He says the CAA will not be inspecting the crash site.
Mr Sommer says investigation into the January crash is still being completed. Once it is finished the report will be forwarded to interested parties for comment, then posted on the CAA website, and released to the coroner, press and public. Witnesses said at the time they had seen a piece of the debris fall from the chopper before it plummeted to the ground. Civil Aviation chief air accident inspector Richard White investigating at the crash site on the day said the helicopter appeared to have dropped very suddenly.
