Chopper disappearance remains a mystery two years on

Two years since a small helicopter disappeared in dense Fiordland bush taking a young pilot and his English passenger to their deaths, a police file remains open.

It is two years ago today since the Hughes 369HS helicopter piloted by Waikato farmer Campbell Montgomerie, 27, and English tourist Hannah Timings, 28, is presumed to have crashed in inaccessible terrain while flying from Howden Hut on the Routeburn track to Milford Sound.

The pair had only just met, but were reported to be "inseparable" when they went missing. Mr Montgomerie had travelled to the South Island with Ms Timings, from Cheltenham, after spending Christmas with his family on the Coromandel Peninsula.

They met while Ms Timings, a seasoned traveller, was visiting friends in New Zealand on what was planned to be a six-month back-packing holiday.

Searchers on foot and in the air scoured the impenetrable bush for almost two weeks but were unable to find any trace of the helicopter or its occupants.

Their task had been made more difficult by the helicopter's emergency beacon not activating on impact.

Mr Montgomerie, a farmer, had been flying for about four years. He lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying in poor weather conditions.

Te Anau Coroner John Donaldson found during an inquest in August 2004 that Mr Montgomerie and Ms Timings probably died in the crash, which could have been a result of an error of judgment by the pilot who was unfamiliar with the area and weather conditions.

Sergeant John De Lury, of Te Anau police, told NZPA today the circumstances of the crash remained an unfortunate mystery, but the police file would effectively remain open in case some wreckage or clues to the pair's disappearance ever turned up.

- nzpa