A Central Otago helicopter pilot whose trophy-hunting passenger fell to his death when the helicopter put down near a steep bluff has denied accusations of "flying like a maniac".
Pilot Harvey Hutton was giving evidence on the second day of an inquest for American hunter Clifford Wayne Senter,
57, who was killed on May 22, 2006 when he fell down a 164m cliff face near Wanaka after stepping out of the helicopter.
Mr Senter, his friend Nelson Rapanot and their wives were on a guided expedition with Leithen Valley Trophy Hunts.
Giving evidence by video link at the inquest before coroner Ian Macalister in the Queenstown Coroner's Court on Monday, Mr Rapanot said he didn't like the aggressive way Mr Hutton flew when they spotted a chamois.
"That guy was flying like a maniac," he told the coroner.
Mr Rapanot said he'd regretted not giving Mr Hutton an "earful" about his flying.
But Mr Hutton said yesterday that was the first comment he'd heard about his flying and it was inaccurate, the Southland Times reported.
Rachel Stewart, who was guiding the hunt, said she didn't agree with Mr Rapanot's description of Mr Hutton's flying style. She did not notice anything unusual during the flight.
An emotional Ms Stewart had difficulty describing to the coroner the sequence of events leading up to Mr Senter's fall.
She said she assessed the area for hazards as the helicopter was landing but hadn't been aware of the steep cliff.
Ms Stewart said the biggest hazard was allowing both Mr Senter and Mr Rapanot to get out of the helicopter, which wasn't standard practice. She'd told both clients she didn't want them to get out, but they "demanded" to.
"I took my eye off Cliff to unload Nelson and that's where it all went wrong," she said.
"There is no way I would ever unload a second person again because that's where the accident happened."
The inquest is continuing.
- NZPA
