The night goggles used on the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust's new $3.3 million chopper. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Prime Minister Helen Clark says the Government helped set up a legal channel for buying night vision goggles from the United States, which she hopes won't be affected by any stolen equipment reaching New Zealand.
Some New Zealand helicopter operators are using the high-tech goggles, and the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA) has told them to hand over serial numbers and identification codes.
They are a restricted export and it has been alleged some were stolen from the US military.
US Air Force Sergeant Leonard Schenk and his mother, Jerri Stringer, face charges of selling goggles, flight helmets and global positioning equipment during the past two years to buyers in New Zealand, Belgium and Germany.
Helen Clark said at her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday she deplored the theft of military property.
"And it does concern me that such property may have ended up in New Zealand by purchase over the internet," she said.
CAA rotary wing manager John Fogden said yesterday he was aware of 13 or 14 companies using the technology.
An Aviation Industry Association official, Rea Wikaira, said he understood there were 12 sets of stolen goggles in New Zealand. He said he did not know how they got here.
- NZPA
