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A pilot who was forced to abandon his plane after it suffered engine failure was only spotted in the sea by the hi-vis fluorescent shirt he was wearing.
Emergency services – including Maritime NZ, police, the Rescue Coordination Centre and the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter service – were alerted about 7.30pm yesterday that a light plane had crashed off the coast of Tasman.
A team from the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter arrived at the scene and winched the man from the water before he was taken to Nelson Hospital for treatment.
Rescue helicopter pilot Dion Edgar revealed more details about the harrowing rescue, this morning.
“We couldn’t locate him straight out [because] the aircraft had sunk – but he had hi-vis gear on, luckily,” Egar said.
“He was really cold and [we were] just trying to get him warm. He was in the water – he’d ditched the aircraft and was in there just under an hour.”
Emergency services are undertaking a search for a light plane that went missing off the Tasman Coast this evening.
They did not manage to capture any video footage of the rescue, he said, as they do sometimes. Asked if the pilot had said anything once he was safely inside the chopper, Edgar said no.
“I guess the pilot was pretty [shocked] - you know, you don’t expect that thing to ever happen.”
He said earlier that the pilot involved had done a great job and did everything right in the circumstances.
“His training has come to fruition.”
Edgar, who has been a pilot for 25 years, said that was the first time he had been involved in such a rescue.
The RCCNZ later issued a statement saying the pilot of a light plane ditched in Tasman Bay, about 42km north of Nelson, had been safely winched from the water by the GCH Nelson Rescue Helicopter.
“The pilot was the only person on board and is now being flown to Nelson Hospital,” the statement said.
A NZ Defence Force plane was also involved in the search for the man. Other authorities initially called to the scene – including Coastguard Nelson and two harbourmaster vessels – were later stood down.
The circumstances of the incident are not yet known and authorities are expected to investigate. The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed it is aware of the incident.
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