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With blood flowing from a head wound and his wrist and ribs broken, Richard Bateman realised it was up to him to get help for his badly injured flying companion.
After their two-seater Robin R2120 aircraft crashed in mountainous central South Island terrain, Mr Bateman, 27, was able to access a first aid kit in the plane but it was not enough to treat fellow North Shore pilot Nicholas Eagleson.
Dressed in a thick jersey and wool jacket against the cold, Mr Bateman made sure Mr Eagleson was conscious before setting out in fading light on a 5km trek across steep, rocky ground between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki.
Given the terrain and his injuries, the trek was a "superhuman effort", said Geoff Lunt of the Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
"The terrain was very steep and very rough - very loose stone and rubble and boulders."
Mr Bateman eventually reached a musterer's hut, only to find it locked.
He contemplated breaking in, but heard a helicopter overhead and used a lighter to set a fire to dry tussock nearby.
The small blaze was enough to attract the helicopter crew's attention through the darkness, and after being picked up about 7pm, he was able to direct rescuers back to the plane to winch up his injured friend.
The first Mr Bateman's family heard of the dramatic events was when he called them on Sunday night from the ambulance.
"He said, 'Did you watch the news?"' his mother Mary told the Herald. "And I said no. He said, 'Well, there's been an accident', and he carefully explained it was his plane that went down and he was all right. He didn't mention he had lost a lot of blood. He asked us to pray for Nicholas - he was really worried about him."
Asked if she was proud of what her son did, Mrs Bateman said: "Of course. It doesn't surprise me. I would absolutely expect him to do that, if he could. He's very calm and collected."
Mr Bateman, a senior instructor with 11 years' flying experience, was instructing Mr Eagleson, who is aged in his early thirties, on the flight on Sunday when it is believed they were caught in a downdraft.
The pair were flying from Christchurch to Queenstown during an annual South Island trip by the North Shore Aero Club involving 13 aircraft and 35 people.
Mr Eagleson, who has his private pilot's licence, suffered concussion and had no memory of the crash yesterday.
He was in a serious condition and heavily sedated, but was able to speak to family and friends. His girlfriend was with him.
Mr Bateman was moved out of intensive care at Timaru Hospital into a general ward and was in a stable condition. His father Graham was at his bedside.
North Shore Aero Club president Ian Couper said Mr Bateman was a very good pilot and "very fit and very popular ... with all the students he teaches to fly".
"When you realise the damage sustained to the aircraft, and it's very rugged terrain, it's quite amazing he was able to get out and seek help.
"Clearly Nick wasn't in a condition to walk anywhere at all, and it was important they got him help as soon as possible. "We are very proud of the job he [Mr Bateman] has done."
Mrs Bateman said it was not the first time her son had been in a close call.
Last year, on the same aero club trip to the South Island, he was one of three in an emergency landing in Queenstown when a battery in the plane began smoking and nearly exploded.
"From what I can tell, the only way he survived was because God landed that plane," she said.
Mr Bateman, a piper in the Auckland and District Pipe Band, has an ambition to fly with the Mission Aviation Fellowship, a Christian organisation supporting missionary work with air transport.
The Civil Aviation Authority spoke to Mr Bateman yesterday about the crash and will take a full statement later. Spokesman Bill Sommer said if the authority gathered enough information from the two flyers, its investigators would not have to visit the crash site.
