Worst affected was Riccardo who sustained a traumatic head injury, a punctured lung and other injuries.
While he was lucky to survive the crash, his life was still in the balance.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was soon on the scene and airlifted him to Wellington Hospital where his skull was opened to relieve pressure.
He doesn't remember the crash, or the life or death flight - just waking up in hospital, having turned 23-years-old.
Riccardo, a qualified builder, was off work for six months.
"I was pretty quick [to recover] because they thought it was going to be a lot longer."
Asked what he thought of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service, Riccardo said, "Primo".
"I probably wouldn't be here without them."
Riccardo is featured in the dramatic television series Life Flight which has returned for a second series as it follows the inspirational men and women of the Life Flight Trust who crew and operate the 24/7 emergency air service out of their Wellington Airport hangar in some of the most challenging flying conditions in the country.
Hard-hitting, dramatic, heartwarming and heartbreaking, the documentary series, on Mondays at 8pm on TV One, takes you inside the situations as they unfold, where every second counts.
Riccardo is in the fourth episode which is expected to air on October 10.
Interestingly it was the second time the rescue chopper has come to Riccardo's aid.
When Riccardo was about two or three years old he got his hands on his grandparents pills.
"The helicopter landed in the Coastlands carpark.
"I had to get my stomach pumped in hospital."
