Missing helicopter pilot's brother tells of desperate search
Monday, 23 July 2018
Jonathan Wallis went searching for his brother, missing helicopter pilot Matthew Wallis, minutes after satellite stopped tracking his helicopter's position.
Jonathan Wallis was at home when he heard the flight-following desk trying to contact his brother over the radio just after 1pm on Saturday.
He jumped into his helicopter and began searching. About 25 minutes after contact was lost, Wallis found an oil slick in Stephensons Arm in Lake Wanaka, about a kilometre north of Stevensons Island, in the south-east corner of the Otago lake.
'I anticipated that he would be swimming in the lake because I found the oil, but it very quickly changed from that … and as I started to find debris I realised this was quite serious.'
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Wreckage was found on the island's shoreline.
On Monday - day three of the search for his brother - Jonathan Wallis said it had been hard on all the family, including Matthew's 5-year-old son, Arthur, and wife, Alice.
He was a wonderful chap, who was very hard working and a magnificent father to his son, Wallis said.
His focus was on getting his brother home.
Earlier, he posted a heartfelt Facebook post saying: 'I miss you already and will never ever forget you'.
He made a promise to care for his brother's son and wife.
'We were a tight team and it will not be the same without you but I promise we will foster Arthur's adventurous spirit and take care of Alice,' the post said.
The search for his brother in Lake Wanaka was challenging, he said.
'It's a very cold lake, and it's a deep lake. Fortunately the area that we believe that Matthew is in, is not as deep as other parts of the lake, but it still exceeds what would be normal, or routine, diving,' Jonathan Wallis told Radio NZ on Monday morning.
The family, which is helping with the search, was thankful for the efforts being made.
'Wanaka is still a small town, and at the heart of that town is a rural feel, and most that have lived here for a long time haven't seen that change,' Jonathan Wallis said.
'So, there's an amazing support network within the town, and also, as is the case, for any other family, there's an unlimited support network that you go into.
'But at the moment, whilst this is most definitely a missing person, the reality of the situation is not lost on our family, and especially given the aviation background that we have.'
The son of aviation pioneer and Warbirds Over Wanaka air show founder Sir Tim Wallis and wife Prue Matt Wallis went down after leaving Wanaka Airport on a short solo flight to Mt Aspiring National Park on Saturday afternoon.
Detective Derek Shaw said the Police National Dive Squad resumed the search just after 8.30am on Monday. Conditions were calm on the lake with light showers falling and a temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius.
'It's cool and calm here and we are hoping for an improving trend over the next few days so we're going to take that opportunity to do as much as we can.'
Shaw said the depth of the lake was right at the edge of the divers' operational limits, so the New Zealand Defence force would send in a specialist navy dive squad to help, he said.
Police were confident of recovering Matthew Wallis' body, he said.
His brother was on a 'very routine' flight, on a route he had taken thousands of times before.
'The focus at the moment very much for the family, as it is those that are involved in the search and recovery, is the finding of Matthew and bringing him home,' Jonathan Wallis said.
'That is the absolute priority, nothing else comes into mind at this point.'