Crash pilot 'needs mental care' says lawyer

The lawyer for the man accused of stealing a plane and threatening to fly it into Auckland's Sky Tower is complaining that his client is not getting the specialist psychiatric help he needs.

David Gregory Turnock, 33, was arrested following an incident last Saturday night when the former flight instructor at Massey University's School of Aviation allegedly took a $100,000 Piper Cherokee from Ardmore Airport.

He was believed to be unhappy about his wife - also a flight instructor - leaving him, and threatened to fly the plane into the Sky Tower.

Instead, Turnock crashed into the sea at Kohimarama Beach, minutes after 500 people had been evacuated from the Sky Tower. Turnock has spent time in a West Auckland mental health facility and is understood to have been released into the custody of his family after having been granted leave from the unit days before the incident.

Turnock's lawyer, Todd Simmonds, said he was concerned his client was being held in the Mt Eden Prison remand centre rather than at a secure mental health facility. He believed he was not getting the psychiatric care he needed.

"He's doing okay. But I'm not without some concern about the care he is getting at the moment," Mr Simmonds said.

"If we could get a bed for him at a mental health unit, he would be there instead.

"It's entirely unacceptable that he is not in a facility like that."

Turnock was under 24-hour surveillance but that "was not enough." Turnock's estranged wife, Anna, refused to talk about the circumstances which may have prompted her husband's actions.

Deborah Singh, who employed Turnock at Fiji flight school Advanced Aviation Training, said Turnock and his wife were only employed for a short time this year but both seemed happy.

"Nice guy, nice girl - there's nothing I could say. I have been briefed on what happened and it's all surprising," she said.

Mr and Mrs Turnock had lived and worked together on the island. Detective Sergeant Peter Florence said Turnock was likely to face further charges after police had been in contact with the Civil Aviation Authority.

Turnock is due to appear in court again on October 3.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY