THE former pilot of the Eye in the Sky police helicopter, and an expatriate pilot were seriously injured when their helicopter crashed while trying to land at a remote mining site in the Central province yesterday.
Capt David Inau and New Zealander Wayne Hartley were flown into Port Moresby a Medevac rescue helicopter, where they are being treated in a hospital.
The helicopter was taking provisions to a gold exploration site for the Minex mining company when the accident happened.
Both are in serious but stable condition, a Medevac spokesman said.
Tony McNabb, who flew the rescue mission, said it appeared the pilots’ chopper had clipped trees before crashing into a creek, when trying to land near Safija village.
Capt Inau, one of PNG’s first pilot, is an experienced pilot, he said.
“Conditions were good, the weather was fine, it could have been loss of power,” McNabb told reporters.
“It looks like they were on approach as the crash site is about 250m from the landing pad.”
Hartley’s mother Jacqueline told NZPA, her son would be flown to Australia for further treatment.
“He’s a little bit battered and bruised and has a few broken bones, but he’s doing okay,” she said, after speaking with him by phone.
Staff at the Pacific International Hospital said last night the two were in a stable condition at the hospital after being attended to by medical staff.
The extent of their injuries could not be disclosed.