Taupo pilot Bruce Lilburn did not check the weight of his passengers or freight before his Hughes 500 helicopter crash-landed on the northern edge of Mt Ruapehu's crater lake two years ago, a court was told today.
Lilburn is appearing at a depositions hearing in Taupo District Court
on a charge of operating an aircraft in a manner causing unnecessary danger.
Crown prosecutor Chris Macklin said Lilburn, 38, faced a strict liability count under the Civil Aviation Act.
About 5pm on December 11, 2006, he had piloted his Hughes helicopter to pick up two Department of Conservation (DOC) officers who had been doing routine work near the crater lake.
Lilburn took with him his loader driver from an earlier job and another DOC worker.
There was no need for either of them to go, Mr Macklin said.
At the summit the helicopter also picked up some scientific equipment.
Lilburn did not check the weight of the passengers or their gear.
There were no seats in the back where two people travelling.
Three others were seated in the front, the one in the middle with no seatbelt.
Asked if the equipment should be left behind, Lilburn said: "We will give it a go," Mr Macklin told the court.
The helicopter hovered briefly and moved out over the crater lake.
"It never really gained the lift it required," he said.
There were "frightened words" from Lilburn. "We are going down. Could someone please jump out," he said before force-landing the helicopter.
It rolled several times and some of the occupants were thrown out, Mr Macklin said.
One was trapped briefly in the wreckage and had to be pulled free.
"It was fortunate they all survived."
The planning for the operation had been insufficient. Not enough note was taken of power and weight considerations given the high altitude, the prosecutor said.
"Had the defendant conducted himself safely then he and his passengers wouldn't have found themselves crashed in the crater lake that afternoon," Mr Macklin said.
- NZPA
