Focus: White Island eruption | Day 3 | 30 patients in six hospitals, 25 are in critical condition. Video / George Novak / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust / Mark Mitchell / Ben Fraser / @sch / Tamara Josephine
"It was one of those situations you'd never expect to face" but "instinct" and "character" got Kāhu NZ helicopters' staff through.
That's according to Lachie Storey, the "extremely proud" father of 28-year-old pilot Tom Storey.
Tom was a passenger in an aircraft flown by his colleague Jason Hill.
Helicopter pilots Mark Law (left) and Tom Storey, leaving a meeting with Jacinda Ardern in Whakatāne on Tuesday. Photo / Getty
Kāhu NZchief executive Mark Law flew a second helicopter out with his two staff, as soon as they heard of the dire situation after the Whakaari / White Island eruption on Monday afternoon.
Tom is now on standby to return to the island to help recover bodies.
He runs his own building business alongside flying for Kāhu.
He downed his tools immediately when he knew he could help.
"He just happened to be working at Coastlands which is just five minutes from the airport [where Kāhu Helicopters is based]," Lachie Storey said this morning.
At that time rescue helicopters were not prepared to land at the scene, but some private businesses such as Kāhu were.
White Island aerial view three hours after first erupting. Photo / George Novak
Lachie said the staff did the right thing despite the danger.
"They are extremely accomplished pilots. They do risk assessments and it wasn't just a case of flying in there and hoping.
"They were very, very sure that they could save lives, which they did. They didn't go in blind and boy did they help some people.
"To me, they are heroes in the true sense ... They went far beyond what could be expected of anyone."
White Island aerial view three hours after first erupting. Photo / George Novak
He wasn't aware his son was flying to the scene until an hour after the eruption but "immediately backed him".
He described Tom as "a very special person" and "a fine young man".
"Tom is a man who will help any other person. It was exactly his character to do it ... He did what he could and that's all you can ask of anybody."
White Island aerial view three hours after first erupting. Photo / George Novak
Lachie himself has search and rescue experience and said hearing the helicopters arriving would have comforted victims.
"It was still pretty dusty and dark. That sound alone would have been a huge relief for those who were in that state of being able to comprehend what was happening."
He said his son Tom left school at age 16 and started a building apprenticeship.
Tom was third in the national Master Builders Apprentice of the Year competition in 2011.
Tom Storey (centre) was third in the Master Builders Apprentice of the Year competition in 2011. Photo / Registered Master Builders Apprentice of the Year 2011 national competition
A year after he started his own business and "went hard with it" to earn enough money to fund his helicopter pilot training.
"He is an extremely good builder, very much into attentive to detail, but he'd always wanted to fly choppers," Lachie said.
"He has just got an absolute passion for flying and I think if you love doing something you've really got to make sure you give it a go.
Tom now juggles the two roles, doing evening and early morning flights, many of which are to White Island.
Clarke Gayford, the partner of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, wrote about visiting White Island during a tour with Tom Storey earlier this year.
Kāhu NZ pilot Tom Storey (right) with Clarke Gayford at White Island. Photo / Mike Bhana
Lachie sat down with Tom last nightto talk about his welfare after witnessing the "nature of the injuries" and the "traumatic environment".
"He is really comfortable with what he did ... I've made sure that he talks to the right people. I believe Tom is more than capable of handling it.
"He is very level-headed and calculated and knows his own mental state extremely well."
Lachie said Kāhu staff had taken part in "constant debriefs, many with police".
Lachie and Tom's mother Karen have been taking "constant" calls from proud friends and family "right to his [Tom's] first college teachers from way back".
