Why was death crash helicopter f lying in heavy rain?
QUESTIONS are being asked over why a helicopter which crashed in New Zealand, killing four British tourists, was allowed to take off in ‘terrible’ conditions. Andrew Virco and Katharine Walker were celebrating their 50th birthdays on the £126 sightseeing tour around tourist hot-spot Fox Glacier, along with retired dentist Nigel Charlton, 66, and his wife Cynthia, 70, when tragedy struck.
The Britons were among seven people, including the young pilot, who died when the Squirrel helicopter crashed into a crevasse on the glacier on the country’s South Island.
Kiwi pilot Mitch Gameren, 28, took off on Saturday despite rain and thick cloud smothering the upper reaches of the 1,000yard wide, nine-mile long glacier. Continuing bad weather means only three bodies have been retrieved from the crash
Three bodies retrieved
site, where recovery teams are preparing to send in photographic drones to evaluate the scene.
The district’s mayor Tony Kokshoorn described weather conditions around the glacier at the time of the accident as ‘terrible’, with heavy rain and poor visibility.
‘It wouldn’t be a good day to be flying helicopters,’ he said.
Australians Leang Sovannmony, 27, and Josephine Gibson, 29, were also among the victims.
Photographer Mr Virco, who was due to turn 50 yesterday, and his radiologist partner Miss Walker, had tried to take the same 30-minute tour the previous day. But friends said the couple from Cambridge had been forced to wait amid safety concerns over the weather.
Miss Walker’s daughter Rebecca, 22, said her mother, who was the head radiologist at Addenbrookes Hospital and had turned 50 in March, had a ‘special spin on life’.
‘She worked hard and played hard. She affected so many people in so many good ways,’ she added.
Mr and Mrs Charlton were from Dunbridge near Romsey, Hampshire. They had two children and three grandchildren.
In a statement, their family said the couple were ‘loved by family and friends near and far’.
The helicopter crashed into the glacier about 2,500ft above sea level, leaving a long scorch mark in the ice. Debris was spread over several hundred yards, with the main part of the aircraft wedged in a crevasse. Within hours of the tragedy, paramedics took advantage of a break in the poor conditions and were lowered by helicopter to the crash site, where they reported the fatalities.
Recovery teams retrieved three bodies yesterday before visibility dropped to dangerous levels.
Five years ago nine people were killed when a plane carrying a party of skydivers crashed on take-off at Fox Glacier airport. Fox Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, attracting thousands of tourists each year.