‘Error of judgment’: Unauthorised plane crash recovery video shared online

Unauthorised video footage from a recovery mission for two killed in a plane crash has been called an “error of judgment” by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

A pilot and passenger died when a privately owned Cessna 172P Skyhawk crashed in remote terrain in the Bryant Range, northeast of Nelson, on Tuesday.

The bodies were recovered from the site about 4pm on Thursday using a helicopter, police said.

During the recovery operation, a person on board a New Zealand Defence Force aircraft recorded the recovery team preparing to abseil from a helicopter into the bush where the plane crashed.

The person posted the video online on Friday and it has since been shared by Facebook groups.

The video does not show the bodies of the deceased or the crashed aircraft.

Fire and Emergency told the Herald the recording of the incident was “regrettable”.

“This was not an official video nor was it released through official Fire and Emergency New Zealand channels,” a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said, adding it was not standard practice to film operations.

FlyInn, a Wānaka-based company offering self-fly holidays, has confirmed one of its aircraft was involved in the crash.

Stuff reported the victims were understood to be a Kiwi pilot and a foreign national.

“It is with an incredibly heavy heart we wish to advise one of our aircraft was involved in an accident in an area of New Zealand’s South Island,” FlyInn wrote on its website.

“Our thoughts are first and foremost with those directly affected, their families, and loved ones.”

The company said it was focused on “supporting the police and rescue services in this ongoing operation”.

The four-seat aircraft, registered ZK-BFQ, left Nelson Airport about 9.10am on Tuesday. Police were told just before noon the plane was overdue, prompting a search co-ordinated by Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith told NZME there was sadness in the region after the loss of two lives.

“Nelson is a small community and any tragedy of this sort does have reverberations right through the family and friends of the deceased, albeit at this stage we do not know whether the victims are in fact from Nelson or from further afield.”