Searchers have found equipment including a helmet and jacket, along with an oil slick, on Lake Wanaka near where a helicopter and pilot disappeared yesterday.
Pilot Morgan Saxton, 31, and the Robinson R22 helicopter he was in were last seen near Minaret Station towards the northern end of
Lake Wanaka at 6pm.
Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) rescue officer Mike Roberts said today searchers had found a floor mat, first aid kit and helicopter seat-back on the eastern shoreline of the lake.
The helmet and flight jacket were found separately, as was an oil slick near Mou Waho (Pigeon) Island.
Mr Roberts said nine vessels, two helicopters and three land-based search teams were combing an area around the island.
Weather conditions in the area were fine and clear and officials had enforced a no-fly zone around the lake while the search continued.
Wanaka police Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said it appeared Saxton was on a repositioning flight from Haast to Wanaka in preparation for frost fighting in the region's vineyards this morning.
Saxton is on bail, pending appeal, after being jailed in February along with his father, David, for over two-years after being found guilty of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Ngai Tahu greenstone from south Westland.
They were bailed in June and face restrictions on flying and have to live in Haast.
The men are respected rescue pilots and are credited with many rescue missions in South Westland, Fiordland and Central Otago.
Their convictions enraged many West Coasters, some of whom protested the jailings.
The pair run Heliventures in the Haast region. The missing helicopter is not believed to be one belonging to the company.
- NZPA
