NZ crash sparks Australia chopper grounding

A fatal crash in New Zealand has sparked the grounding of a commonly-used helicopter by Australia's flight safety watchdog.

Two people were killed when the Robinson R44 helicopter crashed near Queenstown on Thursday.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has now ordered Australian pilots to ground their Robinson R44 aircraft - of which 485 are registered in the country - saying there is a possibility the main rotor blade could come apart.

The directive applies to aircraft using C016-7 rotor blades.

The aircraft could be grounded for days, but CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said investigations would be undertaken as quickly as possible.

The R44 is the second most common helicopter type in Australia.

"We don't want to keep the aircraft on the ground a minute longer than is necessary," he told AAP.

The precautionary grounding would not affect aircraft providing Queensland and Northern Territory cyclone relief, he said.

"The R44 is used in passenger charter transport, mustering, aerial agriculture, but not typically used in those sorts of rescue applications," Mr Gibson said.

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