KEY POINTS:
"I heard Bruce saying 'we are going down' and I thought that's it mate, we're all dead."
Those were the thoughts of Department of Conservation staff member George Taylor as the helicopter he was in plunged in to Mount Ruapehu's crater lake last night.
"It all happened pretty fast, I don't know what happened, we just lost altitude without any warning."
He said he was directly behind pilot Bruce Lilburn, and alongside a Helistar staff member who was responsible for refuelling.
Both men were in the back of the chopper but were not strapped in. They could only brace themselves to the floor of the chopper.
The remaining two Doc staff were in the front of the machine, strapped in alongside the pilot.
Mr Taylor said once the crash happened he knew he was trapped.
"It was my worst nightmare come true. When it actually landed I was face down in the water, ash, and mud. I had to get air and I used my left arm to dig a hole to get out from underneath."
The metal frame of the helicopter was wedged between Mr Taylor and safety.
"So I felt my arm was free and I dug, dug. And I finally popped my head underneath and out. I took a mouthful of water and ash. I was the last one out and Bruce was screaming to see if everyone was alright, to see if we were all still alive.
"Bruce scrambled around for a radio that worked and found one. He went towards the bank below the rim of the crater and walked for about 150m down the bank to find an opening where he could get out. He came back and grabbed an ice axe because it was all very steep."
The rest of the party was in no fit state to climb out over the rim, Mr Taylor said. "We were all relying on him."
As Mr Lilburn went to raise the alarm, Mr Taylor said he and the three remaining crash victims had to huddle together in what were "freezing" conditions, below the shelter of an ice cliff.
None of the three men and one woman had any knowledge of the stability of the ice shelf above them.
"We were there a couple of hours and were getting concerned about hypothermia. It was also all very unstable around there. Rocks were falling on us, so that's when we crawled under the ice shelf. Big rocks were coming down and we were almost getting taken out by them."
Mr Taylor said he suffered a gash to the head, bruised ribs, a sore shoulder, and a bruised femur.
"Mel and Ross (Doc staff) were alright. I think we were all in shock, but we managed to huddle together." The main focus of the four was to stay concious.
"It just all happened so fast and then we had the wait. We were all pretty dazed and confused, wondering what had happened."
Mr Taylor said the crash was not the end of his flying days. "I realise the job I do has lots of hazards around. I love what I do. There is some serious thinking right now, but that's alright."
