A man who crash-landed his helicopter in a remote part of the Banks Peninsula this morning has been hospitalised with back injuries.
Emergency services were notified of the crash between the Kaituna Valley and McQueens Pass, near Mt Herbert, about 8am today.
Simon Duncan, general manager of Garden City Helicopters, which operates the Westpac rescue helicopter service, said the pilot was the sole occupant of the privately-owned helicopter.
"The helicopter has gone in quite hard," he told NZPA.
"He thinks it's been a mechanical failure and he had to try and pick a spot to land and put it down in an emergency landing."
The Westpac rescue helicopter located the crash site about an hour later.
The pilot was trapped in the wreckage on a ridge, near a track among trees.
St John ambulance paramedics attended to the man before he was winched out on a stretcher.
He was flown to Christchurch Hospital to be treated for moderate back injuries.
Mr Duncan said the man spoke to another helicopter pilot on his cellphone after he realised his helicopter was having mechanical problems.
He was asked to activate his emergency beacon to assist rescuers, but the beacon was "smashed beyond repair" in the crash.
The helicopter was understood to be a Robinson R22 a two-seater, single-engine light utility helicopter.
