Helicopter Accident Fox Glacier NZ

[Rotorwork]

Very Sad,

 

There is a discussion on another site as to the blades,

 

they were not rotating as two blades appear to be undamaged. (similar to Glasgow Pub accident)

 

Also for Scenics the machine usually drops the pax of to explore the glacier & returns an hour or two later.

 

There are 4 seats in the rear & two + the pilot in the front.

 

Fly Safe

 

R W

 

From ABC

 

Two Australian tourists, four Britons killed in helicopter crash in New Zealand, police believe

 

Updated about 8 hours ago

 

Photo: The wreckage was found in a crevasse, but rescuers have had difficulty reaching it due to the terrain. (Supplied: NZ Police)

 

Map: New Zealand

 

New Zealand police believe two Australian and four British tourists have been killed in a helicopter crash in Fox Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island.

 

Key points:

 

• Tourists killed in helicopter crash on Fox Glacier not yet named
   
   
  
• NZ Herald reports pilot was 28-year-old Mitch Gameren
   
   
  
• Weather on glacier reportedly "terrible" at time of accident
   
   
  

 

 

A paramedic and an alpine rescue team who were winched down to the crash site confirmed there were no survivors, a police spokesman said.

 

"It is believed two were Australians and four were from the United Kingdom. Formal identification of those people will take some time," a statement said.

 

"Police have been liaising with the embassies of the countries concerned to ensure the next of kin are advised of the situation."

 

The helicopter's pilot, believed to be a local, was also killed in the incident.

 

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken to the families of two Australians believed to have been on board.

 

"We hold grave concerns for two Australians who were believed to have been on board the helicopter and we have spoken to the two families concerned," she said in a statement.

 

"My sympathies are with the families of the crash victims at this very distressing time.

 

"I am advised that the location and weather conditions at the crash site are difficult and full details of the crash are yet to emerge."

 

Photo: Mitch Gameren has been named in media reports as the pilot of the helicopter. (Facebook)

 

The sightseeing helicopter plunged into the Fox Glacier, a popular tourist site on the west coast of the South Island, with weather conditions reported to be heavily overcast and raining at the time.

 

The Squirrel helicopter was operated by Alpine Adventures, which said it took off on a scenic flight this morning.

 

The New Zealand Herald named Mitch Gameren as the pilot, adding he was from Queenstown.

 

Gameren's step-father, Kelly Bray, told the Herald he was an "all-around good guy".

 

"We've had heaps of conversations about not taking risks. We'd like to think he was super cautious," Mr Bray told the Herald.

 

The wreckage was found in a crevasse but rescuers had difficulty reaching it due to the rugged terrain.

 

Police said the retrieval of bodies could take some days because of the atrocious weather.

 

"I'm not going to risk any more lives, we've lost seven," inspector John Canning told reporters earlier.

 

"The terrain at the top of the glacier is very rough, as you can imagine it's icy and there are crevasses — it's quite dangerous."

 

Weather conditions 'terrible' at time of accident

 

Photo: The helicopter crashed on Fox Glacier on New Zealand's South Island. (Tracey Nearmy: AAP)

 

Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn described weather conditions around the glacier at the time of the accident as "terrible" with heavy rain and poor visibility.

 

"It wouldn't be a good day to be flying helicopters," he said.

 

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has opened an investigation and four investigators were due at the scene this afternoon.

 

Debris from the wrecked helicopter was spread over several hundred metres with the main part of the aircraft wedged between house-sized blocks of ice.

 

The alarm was raised late on Saturday morning when an emergency locator beacon was activated.

 

The New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre sent four helicopters to the glacier where they found a deep scorch mark leading to the helicopter about 762 metres up the glacier.

 

Fox Glacier is on the remote west coast of New Zealand's South Island and is visited by thousands of tourists each year.

 

Alpine Adventures is a company that provides scenic flights and landings on the glacier, according to local media.

 

In 2010, a plane headed for Fox Glacier crashed while taking off from a nearby town, killing all nine people on board, including four international tourists.

 

 

[Robbo]

Andrew Virco, Cambridge, UK, aged 50

 

Katharine Walker, Cambridge, UK, aged 51

 

Nigel Edwin Charlton, Hampshire, UK, aged 66

 

Cynthia Charlton, Hampshire, UK, aged 70

 

Leang Sovannmony, South Australia, aged 27

 

Josephine Gibson, South Australia, aged 29

 

 

[Kamloops]

Sadly they go down here all too regularly to.

 

Very sad!

 

 

[Marty_d]

We did a similar flight on our honeymoon 10 years ago... very sad to hear of this.

 

 

 

[IBob]

Two corrections:

 

"...they were not rotating as two blades appear to be undamaged". The correct observation at this point would be "...if the blades were not rotating, it could explain why they appear to be undamaged."

 

And:

 

"Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn did not described weather conditions around the glacier at the time of the accident as "terrible".

 

He was describing conditions later, with the rescue/recovery under way , and in an uninformed manner at that, since they promptly got two people onto the ice to check for survivors.

 

I guess this sort of misinformation is inevitable. I just think it does little for aviation.