Helicopter pilot and wife are killed instantly in a horror crash – but their three children survive after being miraculously pulled from a wreckage with broken bones
- The helicopter crashed on a beach 200 km north of Christchurch on Tuesday
- Pilot Andrew Hamish Davidson flew with his wife Lin and three children
- The couple died, but their two children and one other child were seriously injured
- The three survivors were airlifted to hospital after being pulled from the wreckage
- Brave spectators used a tractor to tow the injured people from the crash site
The two people who died in a horrific helicopter crash were a husband and wife who went on a lunch cruise with three children.
Andrew Hamish Davidson was flying the helicopter with his wife Lin when it crashed into a rocky beach by the Kekerengu River on Tuesday, about 200 km north of Christchurch.
The couple’s two young children and a third child survived the crash but were pulled from the wreckage by locals who saw the helicopter fly down.
Some residents used a tractor to rescue the seriously injured survivors, who were then flown to Wellington hospital.
Andrew Hamish Davidson (pictured) was flying the helicopter with his wife Lin when it crashed into a rocky beach by the Kekerengu River on Tuesday, about 200km north of Christchurch.
A helicopter with five occupants spiraled and crashed on Tuesday (wreckage pictured above) on a rocky beach by the Kekerengu River, on New Zealand’s South Island.
A relative of Mr Davidson told Stuff that the crash was “such a shock” as he had only owned the helicopter for two months.
“The children have been left without parents,” said the relative.
The group had flown to the popular restaurant The Store for lunch when the helicopter ran into problems trying to land.
Locals ripped off the front window to free the children, fearing it could catch fire.
Mr. Davidson was General Manager of Enatel Motive Power and founded the helicopter charter company Glenloch Helicopters Limited on September 28.
The helicopter was transferred to his name on October 10.
Mr. Davidson and his wife also run a bed and breakfast in Ohaka, North Canterbury.
Locals have described their shock and horror when they witnessed the helicopter crash on the rocky beach.
Two occupants died and three children were rushed to Wellington hospital (photo of crash site)
Bed and breakfast owner Lyn Mehrtens said she was standing in her kitchen when she saw the helicopter spiral to the ground.
“I just saw the helicopter go round and round and it went down … I think it must have gone into the water,” she said.
‘My husband just left. He said, “God, I have to go.” ‘
Ms. Mehrtens’s husband, Ian, said locals joined him to get people out of the wreckage.
Mr. Mehrtens told 1News that the helicopter suddenly rose from about 30 to 40 meters above the ground.
Emergency services were called to the crash site in Clarence (map shown), 200 km north of Christchurch, and brave onlookers rescue the three children from the wreckage
‘I went to see if I could help and it was a bit of a mess. Everywhere bits and pieces and people screaming in the helicopter, ”he said.
“One little girl was crying and calling for her mother, and the others were not well at all.”
The region is known for whale-watching helicopter flights from Kaikoura, about 30 km south.
A spokesman for the St. John Ambulance said three emergency helicopters, from Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch, have been sent to the crash site.
Two ambulances and a St. John manager were also provided.
“Our ambulance crews treated three patients, all with serious injuries, and all three were transported to Wellington hospital by helicopter,” the spokesman said.
The Civil Aviation Authority and Transport Accident Investigation Commission are investigating the crash.
Spectators used a tractor to drag the children from the crash site (Kekerengu River in the photo) before they were flown to Wellington hospital with serious injuries