What: Wanaka Helicopters Robinson R22 on a training flight from Wanaka to Haast and back
Where: Arawhata Saddle, Wanaka South Island, New Zealand
When: April 27 2011
Who: Pilot instructor and student
Why: The training flight did not return to Wanaka as scheduled at 1:00; it’s last known position was near Bonar Glacier.
The beacon, one of two types aboard, was detected and the helicopter found at 9:00 am Thursday *local time.
Both pilot and student were fatalities, and the wreckage was found near the Olivine Wilderness Area in a stream at the head of the Arawhata River by search teams investigating an area near Mt Aspiring. The search was focused on Bow Peak in the “Waipara Saddle.”
