Two Australians, four Britons and a Kiwi pilot died in the crash at the popular South Island tourist spot on Saturday morning.
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All companies involved in glacier flights assess the weather and if one firm grounds their flights, they all do.
“We’ve got to get those (bodies) back to their families if we can.” he said.
“The weather has turned bad at the top of the glacier”, he said.
The alpine cliff recovery team prepare to fly into Fox Glacier.
‘The pilot was a very valued member of our team.
It may be Wednesday before the others are recovered because the weather is expected to worsen during Monday and Tuesday.
West Coast Police Inspector John Canning has said there was no point risking the lives of more people during what was already a hard recovery operation, so authorities have been waiting for breaks in the cloudy weather to make sporadic progress.
The crash site was about 2500ft (760m) up the glacier.
The New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre sent four helicopters to the glacier where they found a deep scorch mark leading to the helicopter about 762 metres up the glacier.
“Aviation NZ would like to confirm its support to help investigations into the cause of Saturday’s fatal accident at Fox Glacier” said Aviation NZ CEO Samantha Sharif.
Peter Northcote, a spokesman for the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, said a team of investigators was planning to survey the scene over the coming days.
They are believed to have had two sons. They had two children and three grandchildren.
Nigel Charlton, a 66-year-old dentist, and Cynthia Charlton, 70, from Hampshire, died in the helicopter crash in New Zealand. A normal helicopter round here can prob get three or four in.
“My understanding is that that’s since stopped due to the weather”.
Gameren grew up in Queenstown with his older brother Brett (also a pilot) and younger sister Brooke. According to a Telegraph report, all seven occupants – pilot and passengers – aboard a copter that went down in New Zealand have been identified.
“It’s been well established here, well received, and has a very good record”.
She said the terrain is also complicating the plan of attack. “Until yesterday we have lost one fare-paying passenger in a New Zealand helicopter accident since December 2001”.
Mitch Gameren’s sister has paid him an emotional tribute after his helicopter plunged into the Fox Glacier, killing all seven on board.
He said that the glaciers in recent years had been retreating and that the only way to view them up close is by helicopter.
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“We don’t know why [the helicopter crashed], we don’t know how”.
