Helicopter pilot nursed by passenger until death

Press, 11 December 1989, Page 1

Helicopter pilot nursed by passenger until death

By VIVIENNE OAKLEY A helicopter pilot died nearly five hours after his aircraft crashed into a deep gully in south Fiordland on Saturday, the police said yesterday. The pilot, James Anthony Kane, aged 42, of Manapouri, was nursed through those hours' by his passenger who was on the ground at the time of the accident. Mr Kane and the survivor, Barry Graham Guise, aged 21, of Manapouri, were on deer recovery work in the Cameron Mountain range. Mr Guise was out of the Hughes 300 craft tending to deer when he saw a shower of sparks come from the motor of the hovering helicopter. The helicopter lost power and plummeted 800 m into dense beech forests near Arnett Peak. The crash occurred at 10.45

Senior Constable Lloyd Matheson of Te Anau said. Mr Guise made his way to the crash site and found Mr Kane was still alive but seriously injured. He nursed Mr Kane until he died at 3.20 p.m. Mr Matheson said Mr Kane had been married about two years and his wife, Barbara, is expecting their first child in about three months. Mr Kane was one of the pioneers of New Zealand’s live deer capture industry. Mrs Kane reported the men overdue at 6.50 a.m. yesterday. She did not call sooner because she thought they may have been grounded by fog, Mr Matheson said. A helicopter flown by a close friend of Mr Kane, Mr Bill Black, left Te Anau an hour later to search. Smoke from a fire lit by Mr

Guise was spotted and the crash site was found at 8.30 a.m. The emergency beacon in the helicopter was destroyed in the crash and Mr Guise had used the distress flares to try to attract the attention of a light plane on Saturday, Mr Matheson said. The destruction of the beacon on impact was a rare occurence, Mr Matheson said. The wreckage was scattered over a large area and a large piece of the body caught fire, he said. An inspector of air accidents is expected to examine the site today. Mr Matheson said the scene was difficult to reach as it is on a steep gully face in rugged country. A scoop net had to be lowered from a helicopter to recover Mr Kane’s body.