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Hundreds of friends and family turned out for a service in Christchurch to say goodbye to a Canterbury couple killed in a helicopter crash near Kaikōura.
The funeral of Andrew Hamish Davidson, 60, and Lin Chen, 39, was held at Westpark Chapel in Burnside on Wednesday afternoon. Then a private cremation would take place.
It is believed that so many people showed up to pay their respects that there was only room to stand.
Davidson was the pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the mouth of the Kekerengu River during a flight from Christchurch on December 15.
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The couple’s two young children and a third child survived the accident but were seriously injured. The children, two boys and a girl, all under the age of 14, were airlifted to Wellington Hospital.
Accident investigators say it could take two years to complete their investigation into the accident.
Davidson served as the CEO of the Christchurch manufacturer Enatel Motive Power and was a director of the electronics company.
Brya Ingram / Stuff
The helicopter crashed into the mouth of the Kekerengu River.
A funeral notice for Davidson said she was a beloved husband, father, brother, brother-in-law and uncle, while a notice for Chen described her as a beloved wife, mother and daughter.
His family thanked the emergency services and volunteers who provided help and care at the accident site last week.
The notices requested that donations be made to the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust in lieu of flowers.
The Transportation Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has opened an investigation into the accident.
TAIC spokesman Simon Pleasants said Wednesday that a full and wide-ranging investigation could take about two years to complete.
There was no indication that an interim report was issued earlier, he said. Such reports were generally issued within three months of an accident if there was a clear explanation of how it happened.
The investigation will examine a wide collection of evidence, including the helicopter itself, its maintenance and history, and the condition and experience of the pilot, Pleasants said.
Investigators removed the helicopter wreckage from the beach on December 16.
