Flight instructor and highly rated pupil killed

Marcus Hoogvliet. Photo / Supplied

The deaths of a popular flight instructor and his trainee - both described as exceptionally talented pilots - in a helicopter crash have left distraught families and fellow flyers struggling to comprehend their loss.

Graham "Stotty" Stott, 32, and Marcus Hoogvliet , 21, died when the Robinson R22 helicopter crashed on Wednesday in the Mt Aspiring National Park while on a navigational training flight between Wanaka, Haast and Jackson's Bay.

Mr Hoogvliet's father Henk told the Herald he had often worried "day and night" about the risks to his son of flying, but felt he was in good hands and had "come a long way in a short time".

Mr Stott was a highly rated instructor for Wanaka Helicopters, and Mr Hoogvliet had been training with the company for the past three to four months - showing enough potential that he was earmarked for a career with the company.

"That's what makes it so hard," said Wanaka Helicopters owner Simon Spencer-Bower.

"A lot of the times it's like on the roads. The drunks always seem to get away with it, and the good people always seem to get caught."

The wreckage of the aircraft, with the bodies of both men on board, was found about 9am yesterday in Arawhata Saddle, about 50km northwest of Wanaka. Efforts to recover the bodies were under way yesterday.

A search was launched on Wednesday afternoon when the helicopter failed to return as scheduled, and an emergency locator on the aircraft helped guide rescuers to the crash site. The cause of the crash will be investigated, but Mr Spencer-Bower is confident the aircraft was in good condition.

Mr Hoogvliet, who would have been flying the helicopter with instruction from Mr Stott, had recently passed his private pilot licence and was training to be a qualified commercial pilot.

Henk Hoogvliet said his son had grown up wanting to be a pilot, and had a flying career in the Queenstown area in his sights.

Mr Spencer-Bower said:"He was an exceptional student. He was of a similar vein to Graham ... I was going to offer him work at the completion of his commercial pilot licence. He was going to make a very worthwhile commercial pilot."

Mr Stott was a trained teacher with a lifelong passion for sport, having worked as a professional tennis coach.

He went to Wanaka Helicopters in 2005 to learn to fly and stayed there.

"Not only was he an exceptional pilot, he was an exceptional person," Mr Spencer-Bower said.

Mr Stott had a perfect safety record, and was "one of those real trustworthy pilots that you didn't have to look over your shoulder at ... and practised what he preached".