Pilots remain in hospital after crash landing

Two pilots remain in hospital after crashing landing their plane yesterday. File photo / Getty Images

Two Queenstown pilots remain in hospital today after they were rescued from the upside-down wreckage of a light aircraft they had been flying over a remote valley near Lake Wakatipu.

One pilot is in a serious but stable condition in Dunedin Hospital after he was transferred from Lakes District Hospital, Queenstown. The other pilot suffered multiple fractures and is in Southland Hospital.

The pilots were on a training flight, without passengers on board, in a Cessna ZKLAW fixed-wing propeller aircraft, operated by Milford Sound Flights, in the Von Valley yesterday.

It appears the pilots got into difficulty when on approach to land on an agricultural airstrip, near where the north and south branches of the Von River meet.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand received a transmission from the aircraft's emergency beacon at 9.15am and two helicopters - one from Southern Lakes Helicopters, Te Anau, and one from Heliworks Queenstown - arrived with paramedics about 10.45am.

Sergeant Peter Graham of Te Anau police said yesterday the aircraft was "on its back, the engine's ripped clear, and it's broken in about three places".

Civil Aviation was still gathering information from the operator and the injured crew members, as well as any other available information from the site of the accident, spokesman Mike Richards said yesterday.

"It is unlikely that we will deploy a team to conduct an onsite investigation at this stage," he said.

"TAIC [Transport Accident Investigation Commission] has the first right to investigate. We're waiting to hear what they want to do and in the meantime we're gathering information from the scene."

Milford Sound Flights is a joint venture between tourism giants Skyline Enterprises and Real Journeys.

Milford Sound Flights chief executive Jeff Staniland said yesterday the incident would be subject to an investigation, but "our focus right now is obviously our pilots."

"In respect of the circumstances we will be suspending our commercial operations this weekend. It's been a difficult day for the team and their families here at Milford Sound Flights. Our thoughts are with our pilots at this time."