Fishermen died amid mayday chaos, report says

An attempt to rescue two men who died in high seas was delayed because police postponed a helicopter being sent to search for survivors, a report says.

Operators at the police Northern Communications centre stood the helicopter down because of "confusion" over its capabilities, according to the draft Transport Accident Investigation Commission report into the tragedy.

Fishermen Greg Thirkettle, 24, and Mark Scott, 25, drowned when their fishing boat Iron Maiden sank in boisterous seas off Northland last August.

A Herald on Sunday investigation has found it took three hours for the helicopter to arrive at the scene.

The crew sent a mayday call at 7.08pm –the helicopter was placed on standby but was then stood down by police at 7.33pm.

It was placed on standby again at 7.56pm, but did not take off from Whangarei until 8.58pm. It reached the scene just after 10pm.

Transport Safety Minister Harry Dynhoven confirmed questions were being asked over the way the rescue was conducted. He refused to discuss it further because a coroner's inquest is yet to be held.

Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said he believed the actions of the police Northern Police delayed rescue mission to two drowning fishermen

He said the coroner would question whether the delays by police affected whether Mr Thirkettle, 24, or Mr Scott, 25, would have lived.

Mr Thirkettle's widow, Chontelle Delacroix, says she wants to know why it took two hours for a rescue helicopter to be sent. "They should have got up there a lot quicker than they did."

Ms Delacroix was five months' pregnant when the boat sank. "Even that night while I was waiting to hear back from them," she said. "I remember sitting there going 'why haven't they got up there, why aren't they up there'."

A police statement said several matters had to be dealt with before the helicopter became airborne: the boat's location, the helicopter's capabilities, and prioritising this incident with a car crash on Ninety Mile Beach. The helicopter also needed to be reconfigured to enable it to assist in the search.

Police would not comment further because the incident is subject to the independent review into police communication centres.

The draft Transport Accident Investigation Commission report found the boat should not have been on the west coast in such extreme weather and with an unfamiliar crew. "While there were some delays in rescue and search craft, particularly the helicopter...those delays did not alter the tragic outcome of this incident."

Investigators also questioned the experience of Mr Thirkettle and noted a blood test which showed he had smoked a marijuana cigarette in the eight hours before he died.

Herald on Sunday inquiries have found the police decision to stand the helicopter down was questioned on the night by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre - the nation's top rescue service, run by the Maritime Safety Authority.

Staff there knew the helicopter was up to the job, and wanted it to fly to the general location while waiting for more precise directions.

They felt so strongly about the helicopter being told not to fly that, on the night, they called in a senior police officer from the Office of the Commissioner to intervene.

Mr Thirkettle was found drowned later that night. Mr Scott has never been found.

Mr Kilvington said he was reluctant to talk about details of the case until the families had a chance to comment on the reports. The reports would then be released publicly.

However, he said he expected the coroner to examine police actions. "You have to seek to establish to what extent the accident was survivable."

Act MP Rodney Hide, who has criticised Police Minister George Hawkins over police response issues, again blamed his management for the problem.

"I was shocked to hear of this tragic screw-up. New Zealanders can't have faith in the police communications system - we knew it with 111 and now we know it with search and rescue."

A spokesman for Mr Hawkins said the minister would not comment on operational issues.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY