Inspectors at the crash site in Kekerengu.
Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
A witness reported seeing the Airbus Helicopter EC120 spiralling out of control and plummeting to the ground close to the helicopter landing site near a cafe.
In July this year the American Federal Aviation Administration issued an updated airworthiness directive for all Airbus EC120b helicopters, prompted by matters associated with their tail rotor blades.
It said that a changed manufacturing process for the tail rotor blades was implemented, affecting the structural characteristics of the blades and generating a new part number for these blades.
The new directive required operators to re-identify each affected rotor blade had a certain part number and serial number, and establish a life limit for the new part numbers.