KEY POINTS:
The helicopter that crashed in thick bush on the West Coast belonged to the family of convicted greenstone thieves David and Morgan Saxton.
The Hughes 369, owned by Haast-based Heliventures, went down near the Maori Saddle hut on the historic Haast Paringa cattle track about 11am on Monday.
The pilot and one of the three Department of Conservation passengers suffered broken legs in the crash and are recovering in Grey Base Hospital.
Heliventures is owned by the Saxton family and operated by father and son David and Morgan Saxton.
The pair were recently released from serving a 2 1/2-year prison sentence pending their appeal against conviction.
They were found guilty of stealing Ngai Tahu pounamu worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from South Westland's Cascade Plateau.
Neither was on board yesterday.
The helicopter was carrying the DoC workers to a remote site to repair the cattle track.
Police incident controller Constable Mike Tinnelly said he heard the helicopter damage was severe. Civil Aviation Authority inspectors were at the crash site.
Solid Energy Rescue Helicopter pilot Steve Batchelor, who flew into the site to collect the injured pilot, Dave Jellie, said the machine appeared to have been severely damaged.
"It looks as though they have come in to land and something has gone wrong."
Mr Batchelor said the two passengers who were unhurt pulled the two injured men clear of the wreckage and one went to get help.
A Heliventures spokeswoman said she was unaware of the state of the helicopter.
"However, we are very grateful and fortunate that we aren't dealing with anything more serious than a broken leg."
- NZPA
