Nine dead as plane crashes in fireball

BY SARAH HARVEY

The co-owner of Skydive New Zealand says he is "absolutely devastated and numbed" by the fatal crash which claimed his business partner and eight other people.

John Kerr released a statement today saying the company's thoughts were with families of the nine people who lost their lives when their fixed wing aircraft crashed after take-off.

The nine occupants of the plane are thought to have been killed on impact.

Eight skydiving flights had already taken place before the crash which occurred at 1.15pm.

 Maureen Pugh, mayor of the Westland District Council, said the small Fox Glacier community had been rocked by the tragedy.

A visibly upset Pugh said the town was rallying together to support the international people affected by the crash.

Stuart Bean, chairman of the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association said Skydive New Zealand was co-operating fuly with the Transport Accident Invetigation Commission and it was too early to speculate on the caus of the crash.

Invetigatiors remain at the crash site today, and the bodies are expected to be removed this afternoon.

Cause of crash could be a year away

Air investigators say it could be over a year before a full report into the cause of the yesterday's fiery plane crash in Fox Glacier is made public.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) air accident investigator Ian McClelland said a team of six investigators were on their way to the crash site this afternoon.

He declined to comment on what caused yesterday's crash during a media conference at Christchurch Airport this afternoon.

"We are not going to speculate on causes at this stage."

"What we do know at this stage was obviously the aircraft was taking off with a full compliment of jumpers...and that the aeroplane impacted on the ground very close to the runway itself."

The plane involved in the accident, a Fletchers fixed wing, was "very common" and of "rugged construction", Mr McClelland said.

The investigation team of six would be flying to Hokitika this afternoon to begin their investigation.

 "Our time at the scene today will be limited so we will probably look at doing a full scene investigation tomorrow."

"Obviously in this case we have no survivors but we have some good witnesses. At some accidents you have no witnesses, no survivors and no aircraft."

 The TAIC team would examine the plane's wreckage to identify factors which might have contributed to the accident.

 "If you look at the way we approach the investigation, its man, machine and environment."

 Given the "large scale destruction" of the scene the TAIC investigators could be limited by what they could obtain from the crash site, Mr McClelland said.

 The plane involved in the crash was not required to be fitted with a flight recorder or voice recorder.

 It could be anywhere between 9 and 15 months before a full public report was released on the causes of the crash, Mr McClelland said.

 The plane, owned by Skyline New Zealand, had not been involved in any other incidents to his knowledge, Mr McClelland said.

 "I understand this operator has been operating out of Fox Glacier for some time."

Names of dead released

Police have released the names of the nine people who died in a fiery plane crash in Fox Glacier yesterday.

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

The four dive masters were Adam Bennett, 47, from Motueka; Michael Suter, 32 from New Plymouth; Christopher McDonald, 62, from Mapua; 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.

Community shocked

The small South Island community of Fox Glacier has been devastated after losing five of its residents in a fiery plane crash which also killed four tourists yesterday afternoon.

The crash, which happened at 1.15pm on the Fox Glacier air strip, sent plumes of thick black smoke billowing across the village of just 400 permanent residents, on an otherwise crystal-clear day.

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.

Police say the names of the deceased will not be released until 9am today after their next of kin have been notified. The bodies remained at the crash site overnight and are expected to be moved to Dunedin Hospital today.

An identification team was last night en route to Fox Glacier and the Civil Aviation Authority had been notified.

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.

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