A man who suffered critical injuries in a quad bike accident is now in a stable condition.
Emergency services were called to West Coast Rd, Kaipara Flats, at 1.30pm yesterday.
The man, understood to be in his 50s, had rolled his quad bike.
The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter said the man had been trapped beneath the bike for about five hours.
He was airlifted to Auckland City Hospital.
A resident on West Coast Rd said he was on his own quad bike, checking his cattle, when he saw a helicopter hovering above him.
"I left my quad bike parked on a hill and climbed down a little embankment and crossed the road. All I could see was the [man's] quad bike in a ditch."
By then, paramedics were already working on the man.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said the accident happened on private property just off the main road and down a bank, which would have made it difficult for passersby to see him.
"There would be very little cellphone coverage, if any, I would assume.
"It's quite a windy road, so you would have to really either be looking across the passenger side and then down a bank.
"So a passenger in a vehicle travelling up the road could have seen it. But the likelihood of somebody spotting something like that that far down the hill would be remote."
Traffic in the area was backed up for about 45 minutes as the rescue helicopter had landed on the road.