Kēkerengū / Kaikōura helicopter crash: funerals for parents who died, leaving children orphans

The couple who died in a helicopter crash north of Kaikoura this week, leaving their young children without parents a week before Christmas, will be seen off at a funeral on Wednesday.

Andrew Hamish Davidson, 60, and his wife Lin Chen, 39, were killed when their helicopter crashed into Kēkerengū beach on 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 will be seen off at a service in Christchurch on Wednesday afternoon before a private cremation.

His family has recognized those who tried to help the couple and rescued the young men.

“A special thanks to the emergency services and volunteers who provided help and care at the scene,” they said in a funeral notice for Davidson.

They asked for donations to be made to the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, which operates the local Westpac Rescue helicopter, in lieu of flowers.

The funeral will be a celebration of the lives of Davidson and Chen.

It is not clear if her children will be well enough to attend.

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 occurred 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.

“He was coming ashore and I thought he was putting up 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 more in-depth 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.