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Northern Advocate

Canterbury wedding helicopter crash: Pilot stable, photographer in 'visible pain' a week after horror plunge

3 minutes to read
All four occupants were seriously injured in Saturday's crash. Photo / George Heard

All four occupants were seriously injured in Saturday's crash. Photo / George Heard

Anna Leask
By:

Anna Leask is a senior reporter for the New Zealand Herald

The survivors of last weekend's horror helicopter crash during a Christchurch couple's wedding remain in hospital but are making progress.

The Robinson R44 helicopter's engine lost power shortly after take-off last Saturday at Terrace Downs in Mid Canterbury during the wedding of Mahdi Zougub and Fay El Hanafy.

The couple was badly injured, along with the pilot and wedding photographer Rachel Jordan.

A spokesman for the pilot, employed by Wyndon Aviation, said she was improving.

"The pilot is in reasonable spirits, considering what she has been through," he said.

"Her condition remains stable."

Photographer Rachel Jordan has found it hard being "separated from" Zougub and El Hanafy and the hospital staff who had treated her every day since the crash. Photo / Givealittle
Photographer Rachel Jordan has found it hard being "separated from" Zougub and El Hanafy and the hospital staff who had treated her every day since the crash. Photo / Givealittle

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He expected to provide a further update on her recovery tomorrow.

She sustained significant injuries to the hand, wrist, leg and back, including broken bones and lacerations in the crash.

Jordan was moved from the Intensive Care Unit to the orthopaedic trauma ward late last week.

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She is able to have some visitors but spends much of her time sleeping and trying to manage her pain, which at times is excruciating.

Her husband Eric said Jordan had had "a somewhat difficult past couple of days".

"And (she is ) is often in an out of sleep due to the pain medications," he said.

"Sometimes she's in so much visible pain it's difficult to have a conversation."

Jordan, who moved to New Zealand in 2015 and is based in Northland, is facing a long recovery.

Her husband said last week she could be in hospital for up to three months.

She has had several extensive surgeries to insert plates and rods into her broken bones.

Zougub and El Hanafy were being supported by members of their Al Noor Mosque community in Christchurch.

Both have undergone significant surgery and remain in hospital.

A Givealittle page was set up to help fund a second wedding once they are recovered.

More than $13,000 has been donated so far.

A further $26,000 has been donated to a similar page set up to help support Rachel Jordan's family.

Mahdi Zougub and his new wife Fay El Hanafy were injured in the crash. They are both in hospital with serious injuries. Photo / Givealittle
Mahdi Zougub and his new wife Fay El Hanafy were injured in the crash. They are both in hospital with serious injuries. Photo / Givealittle

Wyndon Aviation last week confirmed the crash was the result of the engine losing power.

They are still working to establish how that happened.

The Civil Aviation Authority is also investigating and had reached out to the manufacturer.

They had also requested photos Jordan took seconds before the aircraft plummeted to the ground, hoping these may shed light on the situation.