ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46166
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| Date: | Saturday 1 November 2008 |
| Time: | 18:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Alpha |
| Owner/operator: | Heli Pest Ltd |
| Registration: | ZK-HXR |
| MSN: | 0459 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1984 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake Wanaka, Otago -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Haast |
| Wanaka Aerodrome (WKA/NZWF) | |
| Investigating agency: | TAIC |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter was reported overdue on a positioning flight to Wanaka. It was last sighted at about 18:10 local time flying over Lake Wanaka. Debris was found in the lake suggesting a high speed impact. Following a sonar search, police and navy divers positively identified the helicopter engine 74m below the lake surface. The 31 year old pilot's body was recovered with the wreckage.
The wreckage showed that a mast bump had occurred prior to the helicopter impacting on the water. The mast bump likely followed a low-G condition caused by turbulence, or perhaps some other undetermined event.
Telephone company records showed that in the pilot had received and sent cellphone text messages, including one sent close to the estimated time of the accident to the skipper of a barge he had flown over.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1.New Zealand CAA Preliminary Report
2. R22 Helicopter Search * Lake Wanaka
3. Chopper pilot down in lake
4. Search continues for helicopter pilot in Lake Wanaka
5. Saxton searchers await dive crews
6. Little hope for missing pilot
7. Searchers fail to find Saxton after helicopter crash in Lake Wanaka
8. Still no sign of chopper, Saxton
9. Cold front may slow pilot search
10. Divers start search for Saxton
11. Saxton wreckage found 74m under lake
12. 'Classic Kiwi ingenuity' used in recovery of pilot's body
13. Large crowd expected for funeral
14. http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/chopper-pilot-was-texting-before-crash--report-2010080511
15. http://www.taic.org.nz/ReportsandSafetyRecs/AviationReports/tabid/78/ctl/Detail/mid/482/InvNumber/2008-007/Page/2/language/en-US/Default.aspx?SkinSrc=[G]skins%2ftaicAviation%2fskin_aviation
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 29 April 1990 | ZK-HXR | Galatea, Bay of Plenty 3 | |
unk |
Images:
Wanaka 2004
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Nov-2008 21:27 | angels one five | Added |
| 03-Nov-2008 21:02 | skydave | Updated |
| 04-Nov-2008 00:06 | Topaz | Updated |
| 04-Nov-2008 22:24 | XLerate | Updated |
| 05-Nov-2008 23:36 | skydave | Updated |
| 06-Nov-2008 02:13 | Topaz | Updated |
| 11-Nov-2008 01:13 | Topaz | Updated |
| 21-Jul-2009 02:33 | flyernzl | Updated |
| 04-Aug-2010 21:03 | angels one five | Updated [Source] |
| 16-Aug-2014 15:12 | Aerossurance | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Sep-2016 22:06 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source] |
| 08-Aug-2020 03:07 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 04-Feb-2022 22:44 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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