Helicopter crash off Kaikōura coast: parents say goodbye

The North Canterbury couple who died in a helicopter crash north of Kaikoura, orphaning their two young children, were fired today at a funeral.

Andrew Hamish Davidson, 60, and his wife Lin Chen, 39, were killed when their helicopter crashed into Kēkerengū beach last Tuesday afternoon.

His two sons and another boy survived the accident, but were injured and the locals pulled them out of the rubble and rushed to the scene.

Davidson was the pilot.

The couple were remembered at a “celebration of life” service at the Westpark Chapel in Christchurch before a private cremation this afternoon.

Their families asked that the media not attend the service.

Hundreds of mourners attended the service, including many schoolchildren in uniform.

A spokeswoman for Wellington Hospital said the families had also requested that no further information be provided about the children’s condition.

Funeral notices described Davidson as a loving husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle, and Chen as a loving wife, mother, and daughter.

The devastated family also gave “special thanks” to the emergency services and volunteers who “provided help and care on site.”

Davidson is known to have taken his family and another child from their home in North Canterbury to Kēkerengū Beach for lunch.

The place is popular for helicopter pilots as they can land on the stone beach and passengers can enjoy lunch at a local cafe.

Witnesses said the crash happened around 12:40 pm when Davidson landed, that the plane suddenly began to turn and then “plummeted.”

Ian Mehrtens, who turned 69 on the day of the accident, was one of the first to arrive.

He lives across the road from the beach and he and his wife Lyn saw the accident.

He and other locals rushed to the scene and began pulling the victims out, terrified that the smoldering remains would catch fire at any moment.

“I was coming ashore and I thought I was doing a display for the passengers, showing them how the helicopter worked,” Mehrtens told the Herald Tuesday night.

“It started spinning … then it just disappeared … clunk … bang. I thought, ‘Shit, oh my god’ – it just collapsed and I thought, ‘Crikey, they’re going to need a little help.

“[The kids] they screamed in pain … The older girl was not good.

“There were six of us trying to get them out, the worst part was trying to get them out of their seat belts.”

On Wednesday, investigators from the Transportation Accident Investigation Commission arrived at the scene and spent much of the day going through the wrecked wreckage as they tried to piece together what caused the fatal accident.

A recovery team arrived later and used a crane to lift the helicopter off the beach.

He was driven by truck to a hangar for a deeper and deeper examination.

The cause of the accident is not expected to be confirmed for some time.

Davidson and Chen were from Kaiapoi, north of the city of Christchurch. He had just acquired ownership of the Eurocopter EC120B machine in October.

The businessman from Ohoka, north of Canterbury, had set up the helicopter rental company Glenloch Helicopters Ltd a month earlier.