Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

UPDATE: Helicopter crash lands on Lake Rotorua

By Kelly Makiha and Cherie Taylor
Rotorua Daily Post·
23 Feb, 2013 10:07 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A helicopter pilot and three passengers had a lucky escape after an emergency landing on Lake Rotorua.

The helicopter is owned by Volcanic Air Safaris and director Dorien Vroom said the cause of the emergency landing about mid-morning yesterday was under investigation but it had been a "smooth" landing for the pilot and three passengers - a man and his two children.

All those on board were rescued from the stricken helicopter, which was left resting upright in less than 1m of water, about 80m off the shore of Lake Rotorua, near the end of Bennetts Rd, Koutu.

A helicopter was used to winch it out of the water late yesterday afternoon.

Mrs Vroom said the female pilot of the Robinson R44 turned the chopper and landed as a precaution after noticing something wrong during the scenic flight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was a low-stress incident. She landed very smoothly in the lake. It was very controlled," she said.

The pilot was expected back at work today.


Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mrs Vroom said she was not able to say what caused the pilot to make the move as the incident still had to be investigated by Volcanic Air Safaris and the Civil Aviation Authority.

Emergency services were called to Lake Rotorua to deal with the incident about 10.15am.

Rotorua police communications manager Kim Perks said a local who witnessed the crash landing waded out to help the pilot and passengers out of the aircraft.

A boat in the area took the four people to Volcanic Air Safaris' base at the Rotorua Lakefront.


Ms Perks said the Civil Aviation Authority was securing the scene and investigating.

Rotorua Fire Service senior station officer Colin Rolfe said it appeared the pilot did a fantastic job landing the helicopter safely.

"It landed upright on its skids," he told The Daily Post.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

Rotorua Daily Post

One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed

Rotorua Daily Post

'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend
Rotorua Daily Post

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

The series uses drones to showcase tamariki stories from above.

19 Jul 12:00 AM
One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed
Rotorua Daily Post

One dead in SH1 crash near Taupō, highway closed

18 Jul 11:25 PM
'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it
Rotorua Daily Post

'Can't believe it': $10m reserve project paused, councillors unaware of it

18 Jul 06:07 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP