KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister John Key hopes a New Zealand air accident investigator will be able to play an official role in the French inquiry into the Airbus crash.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) deputy chief investigator Ken Matthews left for Perpignan overnight, initially with "observer" status at the crash site of the Air New Zealand plane.
Mr Key said Mr Matthews' attendance was appropriate, and it was likely he would become an active member of the inquiry.
"He will initially go as an observer, that's what the rules indicate, but it may well be he can play a greater role."
TAIC is responsible for the independent investigation of significant aviation, rail and marine accidents and incidents.
A TAIC spokesman said under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, if a country had a "strong interest" in a crash in another jurisdiction it could have a role in the investigation.
The spokesman said whether it would be as an observer or participant depended on the country's degree of involvement, such as the nationality of the victims.
Mr Matthews has worked at TAIC for 15 years, having previously spent 24 years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the commercial aviation industry.
He has a plane and helicopter licence and is a qualified aircraft engineer.
He has worked on inquiries including an incident in 2002 when a 2m piece of wing flap peeled off an Air New Zealand Boeing 747, a wire snapping at the Rotorua gondolas and fatal air accidents such as the death of four tourists in a Cessna crash in Fiordland.
Mr Key said two police disaster victim identification staff were also travelling to France to assist, and two officials from the New Zealand Embassy in Paris were in Perpignan providing ground assistance.
Mr Key said he did not know anything about the likelihood of the return of the black box and had been given only the same information that had been released publicly.
Asked if there were any concerns about what the crash may do to Air New Zealand's image, Mr Key, who is Tourism Minister, said: "It's important to remember the plane was still being flown under the auspices of the XL company and of foreign authorities.
"Air New Zealand has a very proud and strong safety record," he said.
Mr Key said he offered Air New Zealand chief executive officer Rob Fyfe any assistance the Government could provide but conceded there was a limited amount the Government could do.
He said that on behalf of all New Zealanders, he expressed his "sincere condolences" to the friends, families and colleagues of the five New Zealanders feared dead in the crash.
