Date:	Tuesday 14 February 1989
Time:	c. 13:47
Type:	Bell 206B JetRanger II
Owner/operator:	The Helicopter Line
Registration:	ZK-HKE
MSN:	1982
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Queenstown, Otago -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Queenstown
Destination airport:	Queenstown
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Pilot Jamie Mackenzie was taking two American tourists and two friends on a "Grand Circle" tour via The Remarkables and Shotover River. The aircraft had circled the Skippers Canyon bridge and was heading back towards Queenstown. Normally pilots would fly a few hundred feet above the shoulder of the canyon, as there were ten cables strung across the river, all clearly labelled on the map in the company crew room. Flying at normal height for about 3 km, the pilot decided to drop into the canyon to follow the river at low level. The helicopter collided with a multiple strand cable, 16 mm diameter, 70 meters long, and 10 meters above the river at the lowest point. The cable was too heavy to be deflected by the cable cutters, the wire collapsed the guard, and the helicopter disintegrated, fell onto a shingle beach 80 meters beyond the point of impact and burst into flames.

1. King, John (1995). Aviation Accidents and Disasters. New Zealand Tragedies. Wellington: Grantham House. pp. 101-103. ISBN 1 86934 042 6.
2. Aircraft accident report no.89-022, Office of Air Accidents Investigation. (Goddard, J. J.)
The Indian Express 16 February 1989, p11

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

11 February 1978

ZK-HKE

Alpine Helicopters Ltd

0

Lake Hawea, Otago

min

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-May-2009 02:24	XLerate	Added
18-May-2009 02:27	XLerate	Updated
10-Nov-2009 06:58	Anon.	Updated
08-Jan-2012 13:44	Anon.	Updated [Source, Narrative]
11-Apr-2015 06:17	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
27-Jan-2019 09:43	TB	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Source, Narrative]
31-Jan-2022 16:11	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]