Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Findings on millionaire pilot's fatal flight

Updated at 8:19 pm on 20 March 2010

The multi-millionaire Michael Erceg died after flying his helicopter into cloud and crashing into trees, says a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report released on Friday.

Having investigated the accident that claimed the lives of Mr Erceg and a friend in Waikato in 2005, the CAA says that the helicopter crashed near Raglan after it flew into worsening conditions.

It says the pilot did not originally appreciate the significance of the weather forecast, but eventually tried - too late - to turn the aircraft around.

It crashed into trees at high speed, which cut the fuselage in half and scattered wreckage for several metres.

Searchers took 15 days to find the bodies and the wreckage, but the CAA says it wasn't possible for anyone to survive the crash.

The authority will review whether pilots are adequately trained to deal with changing weather and consider whether they should be taught about using information from the helicopter's instruments during poor visibility.

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