The scene of a fatal helicopter crash at Brunswick today. Photo by Stuart Munro.
Wanganui helicopter pilot Peter Robb died when his helicopter crashed at Brunswick yesterday morning.
The 56-year-old was the only person on board the helicopter which came down on to Koatanui Rd around 9.30am.
The Hill Country Helicopters chopper - being used for routine spraying of farm land - crashed a few hundred meters from the end of the windy and hilly rural road.
Fog covered Wanganui in the early morning hours but had lifted by the time of the crash.
Senior Sergeant Paul Baskett said the spraying had been due to start at 6.30am but had been pushed back a couple of hours until the fog cleared.
"We will obviously be looking at any evidence they've gathered at the scene, including any photographs they've taken, and just sit down and work out an investigation plan."
It was too early to comment on how the crash might have happened, the CAA spokesman said. The investigation would continue today.
His death has also been referred to the coroner.
New Zealand Helicopter Association executive officer John Sinclair said Mr Robb was a "very experienced pilot, well-respected in the industry".
A married man, Mr Robb lived on Bastia Hill and owned the Hill Country Helicopters business, started in the 1980s.
The helicopter was a Hughes 500E model, which was being used for agricultural spraying operations. The 500E is a light utility chopper that can hold up to five people, and measures 9.4m in length.
Residents had heard the helicopter working around the steep hill country northwest of Wanganui yesterday morning.
Police are providing support to Mr Robb's family and referred the incident to the coroner.
Along with being an experienced pilot, Mr Robb - or "Rocket Man" as he was sometimes known - was a keen motorsport enthusiast and raced V8 utes for nearly a decade.
In April, he won his first UDC V8 utes race at the ITM 500. In 2012, Mr Robb raced at Mt Panorama in Australia, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Bathurst motorsport celebration.