Newsmaker: Todd Dunham

Trustpower TECT Tauranga Rescue Helicopter pilot Todd Dunham

This week's Newsmakers is Trustpower TECT Tauranga Rescue Helicopter pilot Todd Dunham, after the emergency service was donated a surf boat to aid with training for water rescue operations such as the search for Jack Dixon.

1. Describe yourself in three words.

"Caring, trustworthy, witty."

2. What would you most likely be doing for a job if you weren't a helicopter pilot?

"I am also a qualified fitter/turner so probably head down, bum up getting covered in grease somewhere."

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3. What rescue has been your most memorable from your career, and why?

"A couple of years ago I rescued two mountaineers that had been caught in an avalanche on Mt Taranaki. The scene was at 7500 feet and the side of the mountain was very steep. How the climbers did not carry on down over a bluff was amazing as the avalanche just seemed to have stopped and left them on the surface but injured. We winched them one at a time into the helicopter and flew them to a staging point and from there to the hospital. They were extremely lucky."

4. How long have you been doing this job and what keeps you doing it?

"I have been flying rescue helicopters for five years. The feeling of helping people in distress and getting them to hospital, the relief you see from people that have been lost and rescued, all these things add up to a rewarding job."

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

"For some reason I wanted to be an archaeologist, had a passion for digging up old things and reading about artefacts. Maybe one day I will get to check out the Valley of the Kings in Egypt."

6. What is the most important piece of advice you've ever been given?

"Got to drink the froth before you can get to the beer!!"

7. What reality TV show would you most prefer to star in and why?

"Who wants to be a Millionaire. When I watch the show I can get a lot of the questions right so I might have a chance of being a millionaire but it's guaranteed that if I made it on to the show I will be out on the first question!"

8. If you could go back in time to meet your teenage self, what advice would you give yourself?

"Save all that money you are making and buy property, don't spend it all at bars and pubs around Taupo."

9. After a hectic week, how do you most like to wind down?

"I go to the gym most days, Enjoy watching the rugby in winter and cricket in summer. Will have to brush the cobwebs of my mountain bike soon to make the most of the Bay weather."

10. What song or band is most guaranteed to get you singing out loud in the car?

"Guns and Roses will always get my attention, as far as singing out loud in the car, people would probably think the siren is going off so I sing along in my head. That new Meghan Trainor song has got me mumbling along!!"