TAIC investigator Barry Stephenson gives an update on the tandem skydiving incident that occurred yesterday in Queenstown. Video / James Allan
A top New Zealand parachuting safety expert says it is standard practice around the world for tandem skydivers to separate when they make an emergency landing in water.
Mark Horning, safety director of the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association, is in Queenstown helping with the investigation into Wednesday's accident.
Tyler Nii, 27, of California, is missing, presumed dead, after he and his tandem-skydiving instructor plunged into Lake Wakatipu while on a jump with skydive firm NZONE.
The NZONE instructor was rescued from the water 20 minutes later with only minor bruises.
Divers are due to start looking today for the missing skydiver's body, which is believed to be 250m deep.
Otago Lakes central area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen said the Police National Dive Squad would set up sonar equipment and a decision would be made later in the day if it would be used to plumb the depths of the lake.
The search, dependent on conditions, would take place off a barge at the Jack's Point area of the lake, around 1km offshore.
Police asked lake users to keep clear of the search area.
Jensen said the set up phase was likely to take most of the day. The forecast was good but wind was expected to rise tomorrow.
He said the search team was committed to finding Nii.
Horning said NZONE's emergency water-landing procedures would be contained within its "approved exposition" within Civil Aviation Regulation part 115, which covers adventure aviation.
The parachute industry association does not have access to the exposition.
"Standard practice around the world would be for the tandem pair to utilise their flotation device and disconnect from each other in the event of a water landing, as staying connected would make it more difficult for each person to swim," he said.
Tyler Nii, 27 years old, from California is believed to have drowned after he fell into Lake Wakatipu following a skydiving accident. Photo / Facebook / James Allen
Both men were wearing lifejackets, the company said.
Why Nii drowned, if that was indeed the case, will form part of the investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.
The Wellington-based police national dive squad was due to arrive in Queenstown yesterday and begin the search for Nii.
The squad has previously said it would be a complex search because the water is 250m deep in parts in the Kingston arm of the lake. NZONE, which had voluntarily suspended operations after Wednesday's accident, resumed operations yesterday.
