Stephen Anthony Nicholson Combe (42), of Wanaka, and James Louis Patterson-Gardner (18), of Queenstown, were killed on Thursday when the helicopter in which they were travelling crashed in the Lochy River basin in the Eyre Mountains, southwest of Queenstown.
The men were employees of Queenstown company Over the Top, which operated the helicopter, a Robinson R44.
A spokesman for the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) said two of its investigators, supported by Queenstown police and search and rescue volunteers, completed a seven-hour site survey and preliminary examination of the wreckage yesterday.
''The team has successfully located all of the main aircraft components in the steep beech-covered valley,'' he said.
They would return to the site this morning to prepare the wreckage for helicopter lift, before it was transported next week to the commission's Wellington technical facility for further examination.
After the wreckage was lifted out, the two investigators would continue gathering documentary evidence.
TAIC investigator-in-charge Ian McClelland said the team would focus on surveying the site and determining the best way of recovering the wreckage.
The next step would be to collect evidence such as the aircraft's maintenance records and pilot records, and conduct interviews with Over The Top staff.
The wreckage was in bush and on ''moderately steep'' terrain, but could be reached on foot.
The aircraft was reported overdue to the Rescue Co-ordination Centre about 2.30pm on Thursday, and was discovered by search and rescue crews shortly after 4pm.
Maritime New Zealand was reported by Radio New Zealand as saying the men had been returning to base after a training flight.
Detective Sergeant Brian Cameron, of Queenstown, said the helicopter's distress beacon was detected, which helped lead searching aircraft to the crash site.
The wreckage was located in bush about 9km west of Halfway Bay in a ''very steep-sided valley'' about 160m from a river bed.
There was a ''reasonable debris field''.
The deaths had been referred to the coroner and postmortem examinations were expected to take place in Christchurch yesterday.
A spokeswoman for Over the Top said yesterday that commercial operations had been temporarily suspended so that it could focus on supporting staff and the family of the dead men.
It was working closely with TAIC, the Civil Aviation Authority and police on the crash investigation.
''At this early stage there is no indication as to what happened or what the likely causes were,'' the spokeswoman said.
''Over the Top's commitment to safety is of No 1 priority, and all staff are highly trained and experienced.
''Stephen has over 12 years' experience of flying in the local area and had many years serving as a Royal Marine pilot.
''James was no stranger to flying, as his mother Louisa Patterson has headed up the company for 29 years.''
''It's a hugely difficult time for everyone at Over the Top. Both will be sorely missed by all the team and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Stephen and James.
''We'd like to sincerely thank the emergency services involved for their efforts and continued assistance. We would respectfully like to ask for time to allow the family and staff time to grieve and to work with investigators.''
