NZ doctor appeals for return of helicopter

Dr Derek Allen's helicopter was impounded when he flew in Indonesian airspace. File photo / Herald on Sunday

A New Zealand doctor in Indonesia helping in the aftermath of the killer earthquake is hoping authorities there will give him his helicopter back.

Dr Derek Allen, the founder of TroppoDoc, is currently in the Padang region with a team of five other Kiwi volunteers.

Dr Allen has a small helicopter in Padang and is trying to get permission from the Indonesian authorities to fly it for mercy flights.

The aircraft was impounded last year when Dr Allen was working in Tello Island, Indonesia and received a call to fly an injured Australian surfer to Padang.

The helicopter is a two-seater, New Zealand-registered Robinson.

A spokesperson for TroppoDoc said: "Dr Allen had no intention of upsetting the Indonesian authorities."

The spokesperson said that in Padang Dr Allen and his team of two doctors, two nurses and two engineers was taking three to four hours driving to reach earthquake injured people. "His helicopter is sitting in Padang under police guard - what a waste."

Dr Allen would like the Indonesian authorities to give him permission to fly his helicopter so he can reach and treat more earthquake-injured people.

* An earlier version of this story said Dr Allen flew to remote islands. A spokesperson for TroppoDoc, who provided the information, said this was incorrect as Dr Allen had only intended to do so but it had not happened.