Paekākāriki Hill fatal helicopter crash pilot had survived two past near-misses

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

A veteran pilot killed in a helicopter crash near Wellington last week had survived two previous crashes ‒ including one in which he saved a passenger’s life ‒ and lost his father in similar circumstances.

Joseph Keeley, 54, died alongside passenger Cole Ritchie, 25, in the crash near Paekākāriki Hill early on Wednesday.

The pair were working as pest control contractors on the Transmission Gully state highway corridor at the time.

The Post can now reveal Keeley’s death adds another chapter to a family history already marked by aviation tragedy.

Read More:

• Two killed in helicopter crash near Paekākāriki

• Pilot, passenger killed in helicopter crash were pest control contractors

His father, also named Joseph Keeley, died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed by Mount Tauhara near Taupō during take-off in April 1983. His son was only 11 at the time.

In May 1998, Keeley junior was on a deer recovery operation with pilot Rick Lucas when their helicopter crashed in remote bushland in the Ruahine Ranges following a mechanical failure.

Keeley managed to free himself and pull Lucas from the wreckage before it erupted into flames, according to reporting at the time.

Despite suffering a deep gash to his leg, Keeley lit a fire to keep Lucas warm and climbed a ridge to call for help.

Lucas later told The Evening Post: “[Keeley] got me out just in time. Any longer … who knows? You can go through a million ‘what-ifs’ […] You have to look at the result, and say I was bloody lucky.”

Both men were flown to Palmerston North Hospital.

Then, just four days later, Keeley was a passenger when the helicopter he was travelling in tipped over during take-off.

The flight was meant to get him accustomed to being in the air again after the first incident, his manager Garry Mahoney told The Evening Post at the time.

Neither Mahoney nor Keeley were injured in the second 1998 crash.

But on January 28 of this year, Keeley died alongside Ritchie when their helicopter came down near Battle Hill campground.

The Post understands they were working for conservation and wildlife management company Trap and Trigger at the time. A representative of Trap and Trigger declined to comment when approached by The Post.

Police, WorkSafe and the Civil Aviation Authority investigations remain ongoing.