Model helicopter crash sparks emergency callout

A full emergency callout was initiated in Wanganui tonight when a model helicopter crash was mistaken for the real thing.

Inspector Ken Climo from the police central communications centre said a man had taken his model helicopter out for a flight and lost control of it.

"He said he put it up in the air and the wind got hold of it and that was that."

Mr Climo said some people must have heard the machine flying and later crashing and mistook it for a real helicopter.

It was a genuine mistake and police had to respond to the call by investigating it with some urgency.

The mistake was discovered when the model helicopter owner went looking for his machine and ran into police looking for a genuine helicopter wreckage.

"He drove around a few streets and left his name at a few houses, went around a corner and, hello, here are all these police cars.

"Being a typical Kiwi he thought 'I'll go and find out what's going on here', wandered up and they told him about this helicopter crash."

"He said 'I'm looking for a helicopter - but mine's a model'."

Mr Climo said unfortunately some media reported the incident as being a genuine emergency before police could establish what had actually happened.

- NZPA