Police have confirmed 39-year-old Wanaka local Matthew Timothy Wallis was the only person on board a helicopter which went down at Lake Wanaka.
The search for missing Wanaka helicopter pilot Matthew Timothy Wallis has been suspended for the night.
Police confirmed earlier today the 39-year-old Wallis was the only person on board a helicopter which went down at Lake Wanaka about lunchtime yesterday.
The Police National Dive Squad began a search of thelake this afternoon.
The search will resume at first light tomorrow.
Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said the area was under a severe weather watch yesterday and police no longer expect to find Wallis alive.
"They are going to investigate the oil slick that has stopped coming up from the lake, but the marker indicated where that was.
"They've arrived in Wanaka and already deployed and they should have an indication of what they'll face by this evening.
He said Alpine Helicopters initially started the search after reporting that one of their helicopters was missing around 1pm yesterday.
They dropped a marker in the Stevensons Arm area after finding the oil streak and debris in the water.
Wreckage of the crash was found on the shoreline of nearby Stevensons Island, as well as an oil slick found in the water 1km north.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, police and Coastguard are all involved in the search that was suspended last night until this morning.
Statement from Alpine Helicopter:
At 12.54pm on Saturday, July 21 a helicopter left its base with one person onboard on a private flight from Wanaka Airport to Mount Aspiring National Park. The flight was expected to take approximately 15 minutes. At 1.08pm the helicopter was unable to be reached by radio. Its last satellite position report was 1.03pm. At 1.16pm the aircraft was deemed overdue and at 1.19pm two aircraft were sent to search for the missing helicopter and pilot. Items specific to that aircraft were located in Stevenson's Arm Lake Wanaka. The aircraft and pilot, Matthew Wallis, are now considered missing. We would ask for respect for an ongoing search operation and will update in due course.
The location of the crash. Graphic / NZ Herald
Six helicopters have been involved in the search, including the three choppers from the company owning the missing craft.
A police spokeswoman said then that it had received reports of a downed helicopter, but said Maritime New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre was leading the operation.
