A widow wants pilots to stay away from a helicopter involved in 30 crashes in six years in which nine people have died, including two this month.

The wreck of the helicopter that crashed, killing two people on Thursday, has been recovered from Bluff Harbour.

A helicopter has crashed on the Banks Peninsula, less than 24 hours after two hunters walked away from a crash in Fiordland.

An inquiry into a fatal mid-air collision has revealed a huge increase in dangerous close calls in the skies - and sparked pleas for change from grieving families.

Air NZ is unhappy about the suppression of the name and employer of an airline pilot fighting to keep his job after he was sacked amid allegations of alcohol and drug abuse.

An airline pilot has been grounded and is under investigation after allegations of alcohol and drug abuse, including the suspected supply of an illegal substance to a female cabin attendant.

The flying instructor badly injured in Monday's plane crash near Palmerston North has shown promising signs of recovery.

The flying instructor who survived an air crash has had surgery for bleeding to his brain but doctors hope to bring him out of a coma today.

Peter Kollar has left the United Arab Emirates in the wake of a fatal hot air balloon crash which saw his pilot sentenced to a year in prison.

Tranport Minister Steven Joyce has told the Civil Aviation Authority to shape up after a critical report from the Auditor-General.

The CAA has asked airlines to investigate a loophole in airport security, after major flaws were revealed yesterday.

Air NZ says reports one of its planes was on a collision course with another aircraft are nothing more than "sensationalist" media coverage.

An investigation has begun into why a Virgin Australia Boeing 777 and an Air New Zealand 767 were on a collision course in Fiji air space last month.