KEY POINTS:
The woman killed in an aircraft accident flight on Saturday was thinking of hitch-hiking back to Auckland after an incident in which she and pilot Hassan Khayami were forced to land near Kaipara Harbour.
Mr Khayami and his passenger, understood to be a woman from Finland staying in one of Mr Khayami's rented homes, were killed when their light aircraft nosedived into the sea shortly after taking off.
The name of the woman, believed to be in her 20s and who had been in New Zealand about three months, is expected to be released today.
Graham Lawrence was fishing on Friday evening when the pair were forced to land at Pouto Beach, well off-course from their intended destination at Spring Creek, near Wellsford.
Mr Khayami was an experienced pilot and former instructor in his native Iran but Mr Lawrence said the woman was "very shaken" and "really glad to have her feet on the ground".
"She was seriously thinking about hitch-hiking back home," said Mr Lawrence.
"I think she might have had a few reservations about his ability."
Despite offering the pair a ride to Dargaville, Mr Lawrence said they decided to stay the night at the beach.
"The pilot was adamant he was not going to leave the plane alone because he thought someone might have stolen it."
Mr Lawrence said he and a friend left the couple after talking to them for about half an hour. He organised some friends to go to the pair the next morning to tow the plane on to harder sand.
"We left them there and felt pretty bad about it so we went back about 15 minutes into our trip.
"Their tents were all set up but I think now that we should have brought them back ... I guess we weren't to know that their plane was going to crash the next day."
Ross Mitchell, who helped tow the plane the next morning, said Mr Khayami had several detailed maps but did not know where they were.
"He didn't have a clue where he was, the poor bugger. I told him which direction to head in and we said our hoorays, then they climbed to about 200 or 300 feet.
"The bloody thing just went straight into the water, it was almost vertical."
Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority spent a second day examining the wreckage of the plane yesterday.
"Hopefully they will be finished by tomorrow [Monday] or Tuesday, but they will take as long as they need to," said the authority's media liaison, Bill Sommer.
"But unlike a lot of incidents, it appears there is a witness to the accident so that should help them."
Mr Khayami and his family arrived in New Zealand 22 years ago. He worked as a mechanic, building a business.
He built a house in the Auckland suburb of Orakei seven years ago.
- Additional reporting NZPA
