On Thursday 2 January 1997, at approximately 1520 hours, the pilot was flying three hunters and a dog in ZK-HQA from Poronui to a hut in the Kaimanawa Ranges. Some five minutes after departure, while the helicopter was in a cruise-climb at about 3400 feet, the engine suddenly lost power. During the subsequent auto rotational landing two of the hunters were injured and the helicopter was substantially damaged. No conclusive reason was found to account for the unexpected loss of power.
