Family ‘stunned’ after fatal helicopter crash near Murupara found 39 years later

One family was “stunned by the aroha and support” after the work of public officials to find the exact location of the helicopter crash where a family member died more than 39 years ago.

Jody Stent’s brother, Richard (Rick) Stent, of Hawke’s Bay, was killed in a helicopter crash near Murupara on August 1, 1981.

Stent said his family was planning a small reunion next year and hoped to fly by helicopter to the steep and mountainous crash site to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.

Helicopter pilot Boyd Gare, who was flying the ZK-HQG Hughes 369, was Rick’s “good buddy” and was also killed in the crash.

The accident was caused by a failure of the main driveshaft, which was an unapproved ex-military component.

“Rick was only 29 years old and his death was a great blow to our parents, who were so proud of him,” Stent said.

“He was charismatic and had worked in deer recovery in Te Anau before pursuing his dream and obtaining his helicopter and fixed wing licenses. He had just started as a pilot in Central Hawke’s Bay and when his own helicopter needed repairs, he agreed to help Boyd , like your shooter retrieving deer, for a week or so.

“We will ask a kaumātua from the local tangata whenua to say a karakia for our whānau, because it is a significant and spiritual area,” he said.

Napier Police District Deployment Coordinator Andrew Knox took the first call seeking information from Stent on November 2 and immediately passed it on to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for assistance.

The CAA had little hope of finding the exact location of the accident when it emailed its staff. However, the next day, security researcher Lou Child found the printed report on the library shelves, which provided gridded references to old Land and Survey maps in the Digital Heritage Archive Library.

The reports date back to before the establishment of the CAA in 1992.

The CAA decided, instead of passing on this technical information, to go the extra mile and ask Land and Information New Zealand (Linz).

LINZ, in turn, directed the request to cartographer Graeme Jupp to translate the grid references into GPS coordinates.

Jupp came back with: “The 225 602 grid reference locates the crash site in the Whirinaki River Valley, southwest of Paewhakataratara Ridge, 274 m above sea level.”

He then provided the GPS coordinates that could be entered on any cell phone. The CAA is also providing the original accident report to the family this week.

Stent said she greatly appreciated the information and that a team of public officials had come together to help her family.

“Please convey my humble thanks to everyone,” he said.