Two survive hillside plane crash

Square Trust Rescue helicopter

Paramedics on board the Square Trust Rescue helicopter attend to the injured pilot and passenger on board the plane that crashed in the Pohangina valley.

A trainee pilot was taking a flight test with an instructor when their plane crashed in the Ruahine Ranges, north of Wellington.

The 18-year-old suffered serious injuries in the crash, while his instructor was critically injured.

The two-seater Piper Tomahawk - a low-winged aircraft typically used for training - was on a commercial pilot's licence training flight from Hastings Airport when it crashed in steep terrain.

It had been due to return to Hastings Airport about 12.30pm and was reported overdue about 12.45pm.

Air traffic in the region reported detecting the downed plane's signal about 10 minutes later, and emergency services were notified of the crash in the Pohangina Valley, about 28km from Palmerston North, about 1pm.

The trainee pilot, taking a flight test, and his 30-year-old instructor were winched out and airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital.

The trainee pilot suffered serious chest and leg injuries, and was undergoing surgery tonight, a Palmerston North Hospital spokesman said.

The instructor was in a critical condition in intensive care with head and leg injuries.

Square Trust Rescue Helicopter pilot Fergus MacLachlan said the trainee pilot managed to "belly" the plane into a hill, and it wedged between two trees, saving the pair from a more severe crash.

The pair were lucky to have been found by the helicopter crew only 20 minutes after the search was started, and that the helicopter was able to reach them in difficult, steep and tree-covered terrain, he said.

"They were pretty cold, there was snow up there ... I definitely don't think they would have survived a night in that cold weather," Mr MacLachlan said.

The helicopter was unable to land near the plane for fear it could be blown away, so it landed on a creek bed below the crash site and a paramedic and crewman hiked up to the plane.

The helicopter left to refuel and pick up an extra paramedic and crewman, and a second helicopter was also put on standby, to assist, Mr MacLachlan said.

Another paramedic was winched down, before the two injured men were winched up by the separate helicopters and flown to hospital about 4.20pm.

The instructor was unable to speak at the scene and the trainee pilot "just felt all guilty", Mr MacLachlan said.

"His whole mind was 'oh crap, I'm on a flight test and I failed because we crashed'."

Rescue Coordination Centre search and rescue officer Chris Wilson said it appeared the plane had made a forced landing after encountering difficulties.

Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman Emma Peel said a team led by experienced investigator Steve Walker would begin its investigation tomorrow morning.

It would be some time before a final report was released.

"Hopefully we'll have some initial preliminary thoughts on what could have happened tomorrow," Ms Peel told NZPA.

"They've got to get onto the scene and start looking at the terrain, and the position of aircraft in relation to the terrain, and whether there's skid marks on the snow.

"If it snows overnight then obviously that will affect that, so there's all sorts of variables that they'll have to consider."

A 5km no-fly zone has been established around the crash site and the Department of Labour has been notified.

- NZPA