Mental health not a factor

It is very likely that the instructor was medically fit to fly when his most recent medical certificate was issued

A Wanaka pilot’s mental health was not a factor in a Queenstown helicopter crash that killed two people in 2015, an inquiry has found.

The investigation was reopened on August 31 last year after the Transport Accident Investigation Commission received new evidence about Stephen Anthony Nicholson Combe’s concerning mental health the year before the crash.

The 42-year-old instructor and his student, James Louis Patterson Gardner, 18, were killed when the Robinson R44 they were flying crashed near Queenstown on February 19, 2015.

The helicopter, which was operated by Over The Top, was found in remote bush in the Lochy River basin.

‘‘It is very likely that the instructor was medically fit to fly when his most recent medical certificate was issued,’’ TAIC’s report says.

However, in the report the Civil Aviation Authority was advised to review medical application processes for pilots.

There were ‘‘too many ways’’ to dodge the authority’s process that prevented medically unfit pilots from flying, it said.

‘‘There is currently a low awareness amongst medical practitioners of their duty to report to the Civil Aviation Authority if they become aware that a pilot has developed a medical condition that would otherwise render them unfit to fly.’’

The commission recommended the authority improve mechanisms for doctors reporting to it and review its medical application process ‘‘to ensure that it is more robust in identifying potentially serious health issues with pilots and other aviation document holders’’.

CAA spokeswoman Philippa Lagan said a review of the organisation’s medical application process would be completed by December 1.

‘‘The Civil Aviation Authority will continue to educate and inform medical practitioners about the requirement for them to report to us any health issues that a CAA licence holder [may have] that may affect their ability to exercise the privileges of their licence safely,’’ she said.

Combe had 4527 hours of flight experience when the helicopter crashed, while Patterson-Gardner had 10.