Police have recovered two bodies from the scene of a helicopter crash in the Paekākāriki Hill area near Wellington.
The “significant recovery operation” to bring back the bodies of the pilot and sole passenger followed a report the aircraft had gone down about 7.30am on Wednesday.
Police have not yet formally confirmed the identities of the deceased, Kāpiti-Mana Area Commander Inspector Renée Perkins said.
“Civil Aviation Authority investigators have completed their preliminary scene examination,” she said.
“A scene examination by police is ongoing and cordons will remain in place at the Battle Hill campground.”
According to a person working near the scene of the crash, the chopper was unrecognisable.
The man told RNZ the helicopter, which he understood was involved in goat culling, was leaking fuel after the crash, but he was unable to turn the machine off before deciding to move away due to the fire risk.
Emergency services set up a base of operations at Battle Hill Farm Forest Park, with a police cordon in place at the entrance to the popular camping area. That cordon remains in place today.
Spokespeople for both Kāpiti and Wellington airports said the flight was not associated with them.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council confirmed the helicopter was not contracted by the council or its forestry contractors.
“Regional park rangers are assisting police with the response,” a spokesman for the council said.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims of this tragic accident.”
MP for Ōtaki and ex-Air Force helicopter pilot Tim Costley told the Herald he was “really sad” to hear about the “tragic” crash.
“I know that first responders, including two rescue helicopters, did everything they could to try and save lives and fight for a better outcome.”
He said this outcome would be “gutting for them” as well as people from the Rescue Co-ordination Centre, CAA and Greater Wellington Regional Council involved.
Costley said members of the public should respect the cordons in place at Battle Hill campground and people who work in the area.
“Let’s keep the families first and foremost in our thoughts at this really sad time.”
His experience as a pilot meant that once he found out about the crash, it sent his mind wandering.
“You look out at the window at what the weather conditions are and then you think, ‘Well, what could have caused this?’
Costley recalled losing three colleagues in a 2010 Air Force helicopter crash near Paekākāriki Hill Rd, close to the same area as the crash from this morning.
“Naturally your mind wanders back to that ... the heartbreak of losing friends,” he said.
“Today, two more families go through that same unimaginable experience.”
Having been a rescue pilot, Costley said he knew first-hand the importance of “giving people space to respond”.
The area has previously had other helicopter crashes, including the fatal one in nearby Pukerua Bay in 2010 that Costley referred to.
The NZ Defence Force pleaded guilty in 2014 for the deadly incident, with a court hearing Air Force commanders allowed a dangerous and deadly culture of rule-breaking to exist in an environment which had few warning systems, ultimately resulting in the unnecessary deaths of three young airmen.
In 2017, another chopper came down in the Pauatahanui inlet, with pilot Rick Lucas managing to escape the sinking aircraft.
The BK117 A-3 helicopter was being used to transport three 11m hardwood power poles when Lucas lost control and plunged into the water below.
An investigation showed a phenomenon known as “unanticipated yaw” was probably responsible for the crash.
Unanticipated yaw is when the body of the helicopter begins to move in the opposite direction to the rotors. It can be fixed if the pilot notices it and acts quickly.