Steps were taken yesterday to recover the badly damaged helicopter from the hilly country where it came down.
The crash sparked one of two investigations the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has going into two separate wire strike accidents that involve Robinson R44 helicopters conducting agricultural spray operations.
The other crash happened on Tuesday morning near Te Anga, west of Te Kuiti.
In that case the helicopter's main rotor blade struck electricity supply wires and then landed in a clearing. The pilot was uninjured
“In the Mahia crash the helicopter's skid struck wires and the aircraft contacted the ground heavily,” a CAA spokesman said.
“We are investigating both accidents with the co-operation of the two operators involved.
“Any aircraft flying at low levels is at risk of a wire strike and agricultural aircraft, whether fixed wing or helicopter, are especially susceptible due to the nature of the work they do,” the spokesman said.
“Wire strikes are preventable, but only with a well-planned safety programme to identify hazards and put mitigations in place.”
With Worksafe NZ, Federated Farmers, and ACC, the CAA developed an information sheet providing basic guidance on how to manage wire hazards. https://www.aviation.govt.nz/assets/safety/Wire-strike-information-sheet.pdf
