All four people on board a small plane that went down near Ohakune this morning have survived the crash.
The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said the Cessna 185 crashed around 11.30am at the Tangahoe Station airstrip, in a remote valley site near Wanganui River, west of Ohakune. Theclosest road access is 20 km away.
All four survivors - a pilot and three hunters - were injured, mainly with deep lacerations and head gashes. Three were able to walk and one was in a more serious condition with a back injury.
A rescue was undertaken by two helicopters from Philips Search and Rescue Trust, based in Taupo, and the four people have been taken to Waikato Hospital.
The crash came a day after an aviation instructor died when the plane she was flying crashed during a routine training flight in the Urewera National Park.
Aleisha O'Reilly, 21, from Tauranga, was co-piloting the Cessna 152 with Chris Slee, a 19-year-old student from Mt Maunganui, when it crashed into a gully near Ruatahuna, north west of Lake Waikaremoana about 5pm yesterday.
Mr Slee pulled Ms O'Reilly's body from the plane before setting off into the dense bush for help.
An operation to recover Ms O'Reilly's body was under way today.
