Local men among plane crash dead

AMY GLASS/Sunday Star Times

The charred remains of the downed aircraft lie near the Fox Glacier airstrip.

Fox glacier plane crash

1 of 5

TVNZ Zoom

Aerial footage of the plane crash near Fox Glacier which killed nine people.

Nine die in New Zealand plane crash

Relevant offers

The names of the nine people killed in Saturday's plane crash at Fox Glacier have been released, including Christopher McDonald of Mapua and Adam Bennett of Motueka.

The accident happened at 1.15pm when the plane, carrying a party of skydivers and tourists, crashed at the end of the runway at Fox Glacier Airport.

The pilot was 33-year-old Chaminda Senadhira from Queenstown.

The four dive masters killed were Adam Bennett, 47, from Motueka, Michael Suter, 32, from New Plymouth, Christopher McDonald, 62, from Mapua and Rodney Miller, 55, from Greymouth.

The four tourists who died were Patrick Byrne, 26, from County Wexford, Ireland, Glenn Bourke, 18, from Coburg, Victoria, Australia, Annita Kirsten, 23, from Germany and Brad Coker, 24, from Farnborough, England.

TOWN DEVASTATED

The small South Island community of Fox Glacier has been devastated after losing five of its residents in the crash.

At this stage there seems to be no indication why the plane, which was carrying instructors and clients from Skydive New Zealand, dived after take-off and crashed into a ball of flames at the edge of the runway, killing its nine occupants.

Patricia Benson, a resident of Fox Glacier, said she heard a loud bang at 1.30pm and looked to see huge plumes of dark black smoke. She said the plane had crashed off the edge of the runway and burst into flames.

"There was a lot of fire. I'd be amazed if anybody could survive that... I just don't think it is possible that you could survive that."

Senior Sergeant Allyson Ealam, of Greymouth, said the four tourists were from Ireland, England, Germany and Australia. The pilot and four instructors were from the West Coast.

The aircraft, a Fletcher fixed-wing plane, was understood to have been used by the company for only a short period of time and was a former crop-dusting plane.

Fletcher planes are used by several scenic flight operators in the area, and also as ski planes. They are considered ideal for the mountain environment.

Franz Josef skydiving operator James Meldrum was one of the first people on the scene. "I'm a volunteer fireman so I was on the scene. As a skydiving operator it's a tragic thing to see. I'm quite traumatised. It's a small industry skydiving, we do know them, they're fairly close to us. The whole glacier community is stunned and devastated."

Meldrum said the crash was "completely unsurvivable" and all that was left was wreckage by the time he arrived.

The head of Tourism West Coast, Matt Ewan, said the accident would rock the tiny town of Fox Glacier. He said Skydive New Zealand was a successful operator and well-respected.

According to the company's website, Skydive New Zealand is owned and operated by locals who have been involved in the skydiving and aviation industry for more than 25 years. When contacted, a female employee of the company declined to comment.

A spokesman at the Fox Glacier Inn said many residents had been at the airstrip trying to help where they could. "It's a small town and everyone knows everyone," he said.

Westland District Mayor Maureen Pugh called the event tragic. "It's going to be a heartbreaking day for everyone. My heart goes home to family and friends."

DEADLY IMPACTS

Yesterday's crash was the worst New Zealand air crash in nearly 17 years.

Nine people also died in a plane crash in October 1993, when a twin-engine Nomad 22 crashed in a severely crevassed and pinnacled area of Franz Josef Glacier. The two pilots and seven passengers on board were all killed on impact.

Another air disaster on the West Coast claimed the lives of seven people the following October, when a Helicopter Line Squirrel helicopter on a sightseeing flight crashed in a mountainous area near Fox Glacier.

- © Fairfax NZ News