Helicopter search moves out of Taranaki

The family of missing pilot Michael Erceg yesterday moved the focus of their private search for his helicopter from Taranaki to the central North Island.

Mr Erceg and his Dutch passenger, beer company executive Guus Klatte, disappeared a week ago while on a flight from Auckland to Queenstown.

The official search was called off on Thursday, but Mr Erceg's family have continued their own privately funded search, which until yesterday was focused on specific parts of Taranaki.

Helicopter pilot Alan Beck, who had been controlling the private search in Taranaki, said the focus had changed.

"We are scaling down here. We've sort of run out of identifiable sightings because of the time [that has elapsed]."

Mr Erceg's brother, Ivan Erceg, was now controlling the search and had told him they had new information, Mr Beck said.

"They're moving into the central North Island."

Because this was outside Mr Beck's normal topographical area he advised the family they would be better to find a local operator to take over co-ordination of the search.

"The central King Country and Taupo, we don't have bases there, so it's preferable they pick a local operator down there.

"They haven't ruled [Taranaki] out but I think it would be fair to say they've got better prospects in the central North Island region."

Mr Beck said after seven days it was becoming difficult to get people to be specific about sightings.

"We've got to a point where after seven days people are believing they've heard a helicopter, but we're going around in circles a bit."

Just yesterday they had followed up a sighting of a coloured object under water, which turned out to be an old piece of corrugated iron, and reports of smoke on Thursday turned out to be from a rubbish fire.

"It takes a long time to check all this stuff out, but you've got to check it out," he said. "We're knackered."

Mr Beck had been sent the official Rescue Co-ordination Centre files and police files and was now forwarding those, with the private search files, to the family to help them continue the search.

He wished them luck and said they could contact him if they needed further assistance.

- NZPA