Two New Zealanders die in PNG plane crash

UPDATE - Two New Zealand pilots have died in a plane crash in western Papua New Guinea.

The two men were flying a Twin Otter aircraft with 11 people on board when it crashed in Star Mountains.

The pilots were working for the Mission Aviation Fellowship which today named them as Richard West, from Auckland and Chris Hansen, from Rotorua.

A spokesman for the fellowship, Rick Velvin, said both men were married with children and their families were in Papua New Guinea.

Mr Velvin said the ten passengers and one other crew member on the plane were not seriously hurt.

They were all Papua New Guinea nationals, he said.

TVNZ reported that the plane crashed as it approached an airstrip in bad weather.

The mission's general manager in Papua New Guinea, Mike Jelliffe, said the deaths of the two pilots had rocked the community.

"We weren't able to receive identification of fatalities until late yesterday afternoon.

"It has a huge impact on us. We are operating out to many of the rural communities and the communities are in shock as we are," Mr Jelliffe told NZPA.

The crashed aircraft was based in the western area of Papua New Guinea.

Mr Jelliffe said the mission was now concerned with maintaining a service to the people in the area and would re-evaluate its entire programme.

"We are setting up processes to debrief our staff today."

He said staff would be offered counselling and support and special arrangements had been made for the families of the dead pilots, who had yet to be named.

- Herald staff and NZPA