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The mid-air collision between a light plane and helicopter over Paraparaumu, north of Wellington today has claimed a third life.
The collision, at about 11.15am, resulted in two crash scenes - the helicopter falling through the roof of a timber yard at Placemakers, while the light plane hit the roof of a house about 200m away when it crash landed in Dennis Taylor Court, a cul-de-sac.
Two men in the Helipro helicopter died in the collision.
The young pilot of the plane, a Kapiti Aero Club Cessna 152, was flown to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition but has since died.
Police said the pilot died this afternoon in Wellington Hospital from multiple injuries.
The pilot initially survived the crash, with police at the scene telling NZ Herald photographer Mark Mitchell he had to be "dragged from his aircraft".
One eye witness told NZPA the pilot, the sole occupant, was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Eyewitness Anne Russell said she was watching the aircraft and thought they were getting too close to each other.
"Then the left wing of the plane heading west toward the airport clipped the tail of the helicopter that was heading south - broke the wing off the plane which spun to the ground. The chopper seemed to carry on in a straight line for a brief moment, then plummeted straight down to the ground at high speed.
"The scream of the chopper falling will haunt me for a while."
An 18-year-old Surf lifesaver from the Australian Gold Coast who was on holiday in Paraparaumu found himself helping to free the pilot from the plane wreckage.
Ben McGee said he leapt two fences to reach the plane in the cul-de-sac after seeing it collide with a helicopter and spiral to the ground.
He told Radio New Zealand the engine separated from the plane in mid-air but the body and tail of the plane landed upside down in the cul-de-sac.
Mr McGee said the pilot was suspended from seat-belts but he cut him loose with a knife provided by a resident in the street.
"The plane was upside down and there was a young guy in there, probably about 20-23yrs. When I first got there he was not moving but I could hear him breathing.
"I asked him what his name was but he was not answering. He was quashed."
Mr McGee said several residents from the street used water hoses to keep leaking fuel away from the plane wreckage until emergency services arrived and retrieved the pilot.
The two aircrafts are believed to have collided above the Placemakers building, about 200 metres from the runway at Paraparaumu Airport.
It's believed no Placemakers customers or staff were injured.
The accident was attended by six fire trucks, police and ambulances.
Witnesses said there was no sign of fire at either crash site.
A spokesperson for commercial helicopter company Helipro has confirmed the aircraft belonged to the company.
Company spokesperson John Read said it is not yet clear what happened.
"Our sole focus at the moment is looking after our people."
Helipro is among New Zealand's largest commercial helicopter companies, sepcialising in scenic flights and flight training.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA
