Helicopter plummeted 300m, creating a metre-deep hole in the ground
Tuesday, 23 October 2018
The helicopter that crashed killing three people in Wanaka plummeted 300 metres to the ground, leaving a 1 metre-deep crater on impact.
Multiple investigations are under way into the crash that killed pilot Nick Wallis and Department of Conservation staff members Paul Hondelink and Scott Theobald, shortly after their helicopter took off from Wanaka Airport on Thursday last week.
Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) senior communications advisor Simon Pleasants said investigators had removed the wreckage from the site and taken it to the organisation's Wellington technical centre where forensic work would continue over several months.
A bulldozer was used to fill the hole left by the helicopter.
**READ MORE:
* Brother of Wanaka helicopter crash victim says it 'could have been any of us'
* Body of missing pilot recovered from Lake Wanaka following search**
'It's fallen from 1000 feet (300m) to ground level. A lump of metal that big is going to do that,' he said.
The bodies were taken from the scene on Friday and would undergo autopsies before being returned to the families.
Two TAIC investigators remained in Wanaka to collect evidence including the likes of interviews, maintenance documents, CCTV footage and flight records.
Investigators had not uncovered any obvious cause and it was their role to consider all possible causes, he said.
It could be about two years before the final investigation was released.
Police are also working at the site and Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis said police had learned the helicopter had previously been leased several times by police, mainly in the North Island.
'It was used in various operations.'
The Hughes 500 helicopter had been leased from aviation company Airwork by the Wallis family's company Alpine Helicopters.
About six police officers were investigating the crash alongside TAIC and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who would report their findings to the coroner, he said.
'We're doing a full investigation making sure there's nothing suspicious.'
The helicopter had been heading to the first day of a controversial tahr cull, but the cause of the crash did not appear to have a criminal element, he said.
Inglis said police were still speaking to people involved including witnesses and it was unclear how long the police investigation would take.
'It could be the end of the week or a couple more weeks depending on the availability of people.'