Colleague watched in horror as workmate killed

An aircraft engineer watched in horror as his colleague was sucked into the engine of an aircraft, killing him, yesterday.

Miles Hunter, 51, from Renwick, 12km west of Blenheim, was pulled into the Hercules engine during routine maintenance shortly after 8am.

Mr Hunter was employed by Safe Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand.

Tasman police acting district commander Steve Caldwell said emergency services personnel performed CPR on Mr Hunter but their attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are investigating the incident on behalf of the coroner.

Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe flew to Blenheim yesterday to support the workers.

He said Mr Hunter was working with a colleague -- who was in a control room -- while Mr Hunter was visually inspecting it.

"So the colleague was there at the time, and certainly the experience of this incident and the loss of Miles has been incredibly [difficult] for him, as you can imagine," he told the New Zealand Herald.

The worker passed on what information he could to investigators yesterday.

Mr Fyfe said there was no suggestion Mr Hunter had gone into an area he should not have entered.

"So it's very hard to understand what went on."

Air NZ said the Rolls Royce C-130 Hercules turboprop engine was being tested without its propellers on a remote stand at the time of the incident.

A turboprop engine is a combination of a jet engine with a propeller on the front, an Air NZ spokeswoman told NZPA.

Mr Hunter had joined Safe Air in 2005, but had been working around machines and engines his whole working life. He had previously been a motorcycle mechanic, and had put himself through the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology to prepare for a career at Safe Air.

A spokesman for the Department of Labour said it had launched its own investigation, with two local staff working on it.

The department's investigation could take up to six months, he said.