AO-2000-003

On Tuesday 7 March 2000, Aerospatiale AS 350BA helicopter ZK-HWK was on a local charter flight from Raglan to Mount Karioi, carrying technicians to service telecommunications equipment located on the summit. It was being flown in conditions of reduced visibility resulting from local cloud when it collided with trees and the ground, killing all 4 occupants. The time of the accident and the detail of the flight path could not be conclusively established, but the pilot may have inadvertently lost visual reference with the surface in deteriorating visibility. A safety issue identified was the desirability of a less vulnerable ELT location in helicopters.