Surviving pilot playing plane collision game

The investigation into the crash could take six months. Photo / Kevin Bills

The trainee pilot who landed his severely damaged aircraft after a mid-air collision, which left two colleagues dead, appears to have since been playing an online video game in which users avoid plane crashes.

Manoj Kadam, 21, was left "traumatised" after the accident near Feilding in the Manawatu which killed top flying instructor Jessica Neeson, 27, and her student Patricia Smallman, 64.

Students at Flight Training Manawatu have said privately that the pilots may not have been able to see each other due to a blind spot on Monday.

Kadam, from Nasik in India, was commended for skilfully setting down his Cessna 152 plane on Taonui Airfield with a dead engine and missing wheel after the collision on Monday afternoon.

His Facebook account shows several games of Airport Madness 3 were played on Friday afternoon, in which users manage traffic flow in and out of an airport. Players are asked: "How long can you go without a collision?"

Jessica's uncle Richard Neeson said he was aware that Kadam had been left devastated by the crash.

He said: "I do know that he is very cut up by it all and maybe he has been practising landings. Perhaps he is trying to play out a better outcome from what has happened."

Auckland counselling specialist Chris Caruana said crash survivors often felt "paralysed" by anxiety.

He said: "The ability to deal with such an event means managing some intense psychological issues which are exacerbated ... a need to mentally re-enact or relieve the events in some way in order to know what could have been done differently."

Kadam was on his way to a flight training area while Neeson and Smallman were returning to the airfield when the collision occurred.

Kadam is expected to meet Jessica's parents Alex and Lynn today and has been interviewed by investigators from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

There are approximately 50 Indian students at the Flight Training Manawatu school, who pay up to $48,000 to gain a commercial flying licence.

Neeson said he hoped that some good could come from the tragedy, with more stringent safety measures.

He said: "We always found Jessica to be methodical and professional in her procedure before, during and after takeoff.

"If Jessica thought there was a problem with systems and processes then she would want them addressed."

Accident investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash.

Michael Bryant, the owner of Flight Training Manawatu, said Kadam was not ready to speak publicly about the crash.

He said: "As you can imagine he is still traumatised by what happened."

Jessica's funeral is on Tuesday in Palmerston North. A private funeral service was held for Smallman on Friday.