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A Kiwi pilot, who led an exciting career flying medical helicopters and taking celebrities like Britney Spears and Mel Gibson to private islands, was killed when the helicopter he was flying crashed in Papua New Guinea.
Friends say Richard Paul Crook would spend hours sharing his adventures with them.
The 33-year-old, who had "thousands and thousands" of hours of flying experience, had been working for a mining company searching for oil. He was stationed in a camp in remote bush in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, near Lake Murray.
The accident occurred on Thursday after Mr Crook had delivered a load of mining equipment from his helicopter to miners situated in a clearing about 3km from the camp. A long line attached to the bottom of the helicopter had been used to deliver the gear.
Mr Crook's boss Desmond Ross, chief executive of the helicopter company which held the mining contract, Heli Niugini, said it is not yet known what caused the crash. The wreckage is expected to be transported on a barge to Heli Niugini's Port Moresby base for testing next week.
Mr Ross said Mr Crook was a top pilot and had several close friends within the company who were devastated by his death.
He had worked for Papua New Guinea for about two years and had recently been in New Zealand on holiday. He had only been back in the country for four days before the accident.
His body, which is currently in a funeral home in Papua New Guinea, is expected to be returned to New Zealand either today or tomorrow.
"We're so shattered," Mr Crook's mother Christine told the Herald.
"He was such a unique person, very special."
The pilot had previously worked for a Fijian charter flight company and had flown popstar Britney Spears from the airport to a private island and actor Mel Gibson and his family to Mago Island which Gibson owns.
He had also worked off fishing boats in Alaska, spotting game in his helicopter.
Family friend Sean Fowke said Mr Crook had told him about one occasion when a fisherman was attacked by a polar bear. Despite losing an arm, the man was was saved thanks to a quick flight to the nearest hospital by Mr Crook.
Another time he was asked to help Russian seamen pull their trawler out of ice with his helicopter.
It was getting dark by the time Mr Crook landed in the area so it was too dangerous to help that night. He told the captain he would have to leave again as his helicopter wouldn't be able to stay parked in the icy terrain overnight.
But the trawler crew broke the hand rails off the boat so there was enough room for Mr Crook to land on the deck of the boat and he stayed in the cabin with them until morning.
He also worked in Canada, both in the Arctic Circle doing geology work for an oil mining company and in the Canadian Rockies firefighting.
And on a medical trip in Papua New Guinea recently, Mr Crook had attempted to pick up an injured teenager in a village to take him back to a local hospital but the boy assaulted him.
Mr Crook, a black belt in karate, managed to flip the boy before flying out and returning with the police to collect him.
"He was honestly just one of those larger than life characters," Mr Fowke said.
"Every time I spoke to him about his flying he seemed to be so aware of every factor that came into it. This has certainly come as a shock to everyone who knew him.
"It makes it a bit harder to accept that it was the chopper's fault. He can only do so much to look after himself and he did that."
Mr Crook, a former Long Bay Primary School and Rosmini College student, graduated from Air Hawkes Bay in 1998.
When Mr Crook was back in the country he trained budding helicopter pilots.
His other hobbies included playing guitar and collecting classic motorbikes.
