INVERCARGILL - The Civil Aviation Authority will investigate an incident in which the tail fin of one helicopter was clipped by another while they were shooting aerial scenes for the movie The Vertical Limit on Friday.
The helicopters were operated by Queenstown-based Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters during filming for the American picture.
The incident is thought to have occurred in the Rees Valley area near Lake Wakatipu.
The general manager of Glacier Southern Lakes, Pat West, said yesterday that both pilots had more than 25 years' flying experience.
A 13-seater Bell 212 helicopter, leased from a Papua New Guinea company for the filming project, clipped the tail fin of a Squirrel helicopter, causing superficial damage, said Mr West.
Both machines were at a safe height and landed safely, he said. The tail fin was repaired and both helicopters were back in the air the next day.
A Civil Aviation spokesman, Martyn Gosling, said inspectors were on their way to Queenstown. - NZPA
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