A Civil Aviation Authority report into a helicopter crash
which killed two Far North men a year ago will be completed
early next year.
Department of Conservation ranger William Macrae, of Awanui,
and pilot John "Prickles" de Ridder, of Kerikeri, died when
their Salt Air helicopter crashed into Karikari Bay on the
night of November 30, 2011.
The men had originally been flying reconnaissance over a
devastating fire on the Karikari Peninsula, but were
re-tasked with a search and rescue mission for five people
trapped between the sea and the advancing flames. A powerful
wind was blowing thick clouds of smoke out to sea at the
time.
The trapped people eventually managed to row out to sea in a
dinghy and were picked up by a commercial fishing boat.
CAA spokesman Mike Richards said the safety investigators'
final report would be released by the end of February, 2013.
About 70 family members, friends, colleagues and members of
Karikari hapu Te Whanau Moana and Te Rorohuri gathered at the
point nearest the crash site on November 30 to remember the
men and celebrate their lives.
No one has been charged in relation to the deliberately lit
fire.
- The Northern Advocate
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