No Injuries Reported In Auckland Waterfront Accident

A Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter (photo from company YouTube video) being used to help erect a seven-story-tall artificial Christmas tree on the waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand Tuesday morning apparently caught a scaffold guy cable with its main rotor, resulting in a spectacular crash seen live on a web video stream from TV New Zealand (TVNZ).

In the video, the tail boom can be seen separating from the fuselage immediately after the main rotor strikes the cable, then the aircraft rolls and the main rotor strikes the ground and the fuselage comes to rest in a nose-high attitude, its turbine still running. The pilot, identified as Greg Gribble, is seen falling partially out of the helicopter's open door as it goes down, then falling back into the cockpit. He walked away from the wreck with the assistance of two ground workers, and was treated and released by Auckland Hospital, according to TVNZ.

Gribble and his son, Jaz, both work as pilots in their family business, Helisika Helicopters, which was the operator of the accident aircraft. New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.

FMI: www.helisika.co.nz