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The survivor of a fatal air crash has spoken publicly for the first time, blaming a freak wind for the accident, which killed one of New Zealand's most promising young pilots.
And flight student Chris Slee has revealed he has alreadyreturned to the skies to pursue his dream of becoming an airline pilot - although his injuries have so far prevented him from taking the controls.
Slee, 19, is still recovering from the crash which killed Aleisha O'Reilly, 21, in October. Their Cessna crashed into the Ureweras during a cross-country flight. Slee escaped with a badly broken finger and leg and facial injuries.
He had been training with O'Reilly for about three hours that day, practising emergency landings. He said that O'Reilly had just taken control of the Cessna, when the plane was hit by strong winds.
"She just thought I wanted a break and I said, 'Yeah, sweet'. The weather became worse all of a sudden. It was a freak wind and stuff. That didn't cause us any harm anyway, because we could've just turned around. [But] while we were turning, the weather got even worse.
"We just came down," added Slee, who said the accident happened so quickly he never had time to scream. "It was like three seconds. As soon as we crashed, I knew I was all right. I'm lucky."
The aircraft crashed into bush in a gully off State Highway 58 between Murupara and Ruatahuna. He knew O'Reilly had been killed instantly, after checking her pulse. "I just got myself out. Then I got her out of the plane because I was worried that the plane was going to burst into flames. It took me ages to figure out where I was."
He eventually got himself to the highway, where he flagged down a passing car.
Although accident investigators have yet to report on the cause of the crash, Slee says he does not expect to be discredited and is preparing to resume training next month.
Slee began training for his private licence in February last year, and hopes to eventually obtain a commercial licence. He is undergoing physio for his badly injured finger but the mental healing will take more time. He is receiving counselling and keeps in touch with O'Reilly's parents.
He says he'll always remember O'Reilly as his best flight instructor and how she "flew perfectly".
"I think she died doing what she loved best of all. She was a lovely, bubbly person. I miss her a lot."
