KEY POINTS:
The family of a helicopter pilot last night told how he saved the lives of his three passengers - despite having been speared in the stomach by a steel power line after crashing into power cables.
Paul Sutton, a pilot at Scenicland Helicopters in Greymouth, was flying three
police officers on a search mission when he crashed into power lines near Punakaiki. The windscreen smashed as the severed cables sliced through the cabin.
As Sutton fought to control the chopper, a 3cm piece of wire pierced his stomach, lodging in his intestine.
Bleeding heavily, the 30-year-old father of two managed to fly the Robinson 44 aircraft 500m to a beach, where he made an emergency landing and evacuated his passengers. Realising the helicopter could be reached by high tides, he then flew it 50m to high ground and 500m further to a paddock.
Sutton is recovering in Grey Base Hospital after three hours of surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery.
His relieved family told the Herald on Sunday they were amazed by his bravery and skill as a pilot, saying he had been working "on adrenalin".
His mother Linda Sutton said: "I think he just went on overdrive. He knew he was hurt but he didn't realise he was so bad. As soon as he landed he made sure his passengers were okay. I can't believe he did all that. I don't think anyone realised he was as badly hurt as all that."
She said all the occupants were incredibly lucky, especially as the power lines had been disconnected for maintenance.
"There were other bits of the wire in the back seat as well as in the passenger seat.
"They were bloody lucky - it's just one of those things."
Linda Sutton said the passengers didn't really know what happened initially and feared they had been shot at. Moments before they struck the cables, they were searching for evidence after the recovery of a naked male body two weeks ago.
"The chopper never vibrated. He knew something had happened but Paul just kept his calm and landed it. His chest was bleeding. It sounds like they thought they had been shot at," she said.
Sutton's wife, Kim, said he told her he was trained to look for power poles. But the pole was obscured by trees and he flew straight into the wires.
The three police officers were unharmed, and the machine was undamaged except for a broken windscreen.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident.