Missing Wanaka pilot presumed dead as search enters recovery phase

Saturday, 21 July 2018

Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw told media on Sunday the search was now a recovery operation.

Police are confident of recovering the body of a well-known pilot and tourism figure whose helicopter crashed at Lake Wanaka.

Matthew Wallis, the son of aviation pioneer and Warbirds Over Wanaka air show founder Sir Tim Wallis and his wife Lady Prue, went down after leaving Wanaka Airport on a short solo flight to Mt Aspiring National Park on Saturday afternoon.

An oil slick was spotted a kilometre north of Stevensons Island, in the south-east corner of the Otago lake, and wreckage has been found on the island's shoreline.

Pilot Matthew Timothy Wallis is thought to have died after his helicopter crashed into Lake Wanaka.

Search and rescue teams have reached the debris but not located anyone, and police divers have scoured the water.

**READ MORE:

Wallis is one of four sons of Warbirds Over Wanaka founder Sir Tim Wallis and well-known in the tourism industry.

* Crews to wait for daylight to continue search

* Wanaka helicopter crash victim takes last flight

Minaret Station above Lake Wanaka is accessible only by helicopter, so Matt Wallis and his brothers fly in their guests.

* High on the luxury life at Minaret Station

* Nick Wallis: 'You can fly in anything in these'**

Helicopters joined the search for the chopper soon after it went down in Lake Wanaka.

Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said on Sunday night he was 'confident' the 39-year-old's body would be found.

'We're very motivated to do that, it's a parent's worst nightmare to have an incident like this happen.

Owned and run by Wallis and his three brothers, the exclusive Minaret Station resort is frequented by Hollywood celebrities anxious to avoid prying eyes.

'If we can help – we can't change what's happened – but if we can help alleviate a small degree of hurt by bringing Matt home then we will make every practical effort to do so.'

Shaw, who knows members of the Wallis family, said there was a 'stoic determination' to recover his body.

Sir Tim Wallis alongside former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who launched a $10 million fundraising campaign to redevelop the New Zealand Fighter Pilots' Museum in Wanaka.

He said the family had offered assistance to help with the search, sending out two helicopters soon after Wallis was reported missing.

'The family are having to cope with the loss of their brother and son and they did a fantastic job under trying circumstances which we're grateful for,' Shaw said.

'They supplied us with the break we needed to try resolve this search … now they can get on with their grieving and look after themselves.'

Shaw said the land search had largely concluded, with Monday's efforts focusing on the water north-west of Stevensons Island.

Minaret Station, in a valley climbing up from the edge of Lake Wanaka, is owned by the family of Sir Tim Wallis.

'We think the wreckage is in a reasonably defined area and we're working with the experience of the dive squad and boat operators in a wider area.'

Alpine Helicopters, a company run by two of Wallis' brothers, said in a statement that he left the base at 12.54pm on Saturday on a private flight from Wanaka to drop off supplies at a lodge in the national park.

The flight was expected to take 15 minutes, but at 1.08pm the Robinson 44 helicopter was unable to be reached by radio.

Shortly after two of the company's other helicopters were scrambled to search for the missing aircraft and pilot.

Shaw would not be drawn on whether Wallis should have been flying in Saturday's weather.

'There were strong winds in the area and rain, although the various parts of the terrain around here can be sheltered depending on the prevailing winds.

'Any comment on the suitability of flying is not within my knowledge.'

Matt Wallis was one of four brothers – sibling to Toby, Jonathan and Nick – who together run Minaret Station, a working farm and exclusive mountain resort on a glacial valley in the southern Alps accessible only by helicopter.

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said he was shocked to hear the news of the crash.

'I'm sure I speak for everybody that it's heartbreaking. He was terribly well-known,' Boult said. 'To the family, when this thing happens, the entire district, our hearts go out to them.'

The Queenstown Lakes aviation community has been struck by tragedy before. Ten years ago Wallis himself was involved in a search for a friend, Morgan Saxton, who died in another helicopter crash in Lake Wanaka.

Friends of Wallis said that after Saxton's death he worked relentlessly to recover his body so he could properly be laid to rest.

Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Calum MacLeod said: 'It was he who pushed for Morgan's recovery.'

MacLeod, who owns Wanaka's well-known Cinema Paradiso, has known the Wallis family for many years. He was expecting to see Sir Tim at the cinema on Saturday afternoon – but it wasn't to be.

Instead, at about 4pm, he got word from the harbourmaster's office about the accident.

'At about 8 o'clock I got the phone call that it was Matt,' MacLeod sad. 'It's such a tragedy when a young man's life is cut short. At this stage, he's missing. You always hope for the best but fear the worst.'

MacLeod offered his respects and condolence to the Wallis family, saying: 'I've known them for years and I feel for them at this time. He's a well-respected young man and it's a huge shame.'

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) will investigate Saturday's incident.

In 2016, Robinson helicopters were placed on the TAIC's 'watch-list' of the nation's most serious transport concerns.

At the time, about 300 Robinson helicopters were registered in New Zealand – mostly R22 and R44 models – comprising about 40 per cent of the country's total helicopter fleet.