Aviation businesses face financial losses

Of the 184 Robinson R44s in the country, 80 would be directly affected. Photo / Thinkstock

Aviation businesses face an uncertain wait and the prospect of financial losses after the grounding of the type of helicopter involved in a fatal crash last week - the largest grounding of an aircraft in New Zealand.

Eighty Robinson R44s have been ordered out of the skies after the deaths of James Louis Patterson Gardner, 18, and Stephen Anthony Nicholson Combe, 42, in Central Otago on Thursday.

Their bodies were found at the wreckage of the Robinson 44 they had been flying in remote bush in the Lochy Valley area, in the Eyre Mountains southwest of Queenstown, 90 minutes after the chopper was reported overdue.

The Civil Aviation Authority has grounded all Robinson R44 helicopters fitted with the same model of rotor blade as that involved in the fatal crash.

Over the weekend, Civil Aviation director Graeme Harris issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive grounding all R44s fitted with a C016-7 (Dash 7) main rotor blade until further notice as a safety precaution.

Of the 184 Robinson R44s in the country, 80 would be directly affected. The helicopters are commonly used in the agricultural and tourism industries.

Plimmerton man Steve Nicholson of SCN Helicopters has two Robinson R44s - one with the Dash 7 blade and another with a different blade, which was unaffected.

Mr Nicholson said he was expecting a long wait for information on the grounding.

"I can't envisage anything happening in the next month," he said.

"Luckily we have two, so one can keep going. It's certainly going to put a lot of pressure on everything else to keep things ticking over financially."

John Hobday of Rotor and Wing Maintenance in Taupo said a number of his clients had been looking to lease other helicopters "to fill the gaps" while their Robinson R44s were grounded.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission executive Peter Northcote said the commission supported the Civil Aviation Authority's grounding directive.

Investigators completed the recovery of wreckage from the crash on Saturday. It has been taken to Wellington for examination.