Helicopter pilot still shocked, puzzled

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33610, 12 August 1974, Page 14

Helicopter pilot still shocked, puzzled

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, August 11. The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into Lake Te Anau last Wednesday night, Mr Grant Leighton, was still suffering from shock today, and expressing disbelief over the whole incident.

Until today he was unable to be interviewed by the police, and was due to be X-rayed for other suspected injuries.

He is being cared for by his fellow pilots, who live in at a motel. The motels were recently bought by the complex company structure engaged in deer recovery work. The company was owned by Mr A. M. Paul, who was killed in the helicopter crash. Pilots believe that when Mr Leighton is able to tell his story, it will reveal a remarkable feat of survival in the most rugged part of Fiordland National Park. Mr N. Thompson, who also lived at the motels, said Mr Leighton was still shocked and had undergone “a terrific ordeal,” starting from the time he extricated himself from the helicopter as it dived into 80ft of water in Lake Te Anau’s middle arm. “He still has not been able to tell the full story, but that’s his story and «I can’t speak for him as he is still in a bad way,” said Mr Thompson. Others in the industry consider Mr Leighton lucky to

be alive. It was an extremely cold night and he was in constant danger of exposure. This, they say, would have happened if he had allo.wed himself to fall asleep. Instead, he clambered from the water and crawled and walked for the next 15 hours until he was spotted next morning. The distance between the place he was found and where the helicopter crashed indicated that while Mr Leighton did not move quickly he did not allow himself any rest. PREVIOUS INCIDENTS Some people in Te Anau have suggested the possibility of the helicopter’s being sabotaged. Incidents during the 14 days before the crash included the removal of carcases from the roadside, and a high-speed chase earlier last week, when carcases were removed from a utility vehicle. An inspector of the Air Accidents Division of the Civil Aviation Department in Wellington (Mr E. H. Law) arrived in Te Anau this after-

noon. Mr Law had his bag packed to leave on Friday if the wreckage of the helicopter was salvaged in time for daylight inspection. It was decided to salvage the wreckage on Saturday, and while Mr Law waited in Wellington a Cessna 180 made a forced landing at the Waiau air strip, at Te Anau at 8.15 a.m. The Cessna carried four persons, two of them competent pilots. It suddenly lost power after take-off. The Fiordland Aero Club’s president (Mr V. Baker) said today that the crash-landing procedure on the part of the pilot after the loss of power was “an excellent piece of airmanship.” Nobody was injured, but the aircraft received severe structural damage. Mr Law ordered that the damaged Cessna be locked in the club’s hangar until he arrived to inspect it and the helicopter. The helicopter will be inspected tomorrow. Various reasons, including rifle fire,, have been advanced for its sudden crash.