'He's very, very lucky to walk away': Pilot's miracle escape as helicopter crashes while putting up Christmas tree
- Pilot Greg Gribble had 20 years of experience
- Civil Aviation Authority launches investigation
By Lee Moran
A pilot cheated death on live TV when his helicopter crashed as he was putting up a seven-storey Christmas tree.
Television viewers in New Zealand watched in horror as the blades of Greg Gribble's helicopter became tangled in cables attached to scaffolding on Auckland's waterfront.
Dramatic footage shows the rear of the helicopter snapping, flinging Mr Gribble out of the front door of the helicopter, then slamming him back through its side door.
The aircraft then dropped 25ft to the ground.
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Crash: The helicopter pilot was lucky to walk away alive from the dramatic incident
Horror: The helicopter pilot had been helping install a seven-storey Christmas tree in Auckland, New Zealand
Helping hand: The helicopter pilot is escorted away from the crash site
Thousands watched the drama unfold on TV in New Zealand. Steve Hall witnessed the 10.30am crash from a boat moored nearby, and said the helicopter appeared to be trying to lift a tower near the drawbridge.
He said its blades clipped the connecting wire as it hovered below the tip of the tower, sending it into a spin before it crashed into the ground.
The Christmas tree, an Auckland institution, was being put up near the Te Wero Island bridge, which connects the Viaduct and Wynyard Quarter.
The accident has left air-safety campaigners aghast, as many have wondered why a helicopter was allowed to perform such an intricate operation in such a built-up area.
Telecom, its sponsors, wrote on Twitter: 'Can confirm the helicopter that crashed was putting up our Xmas tree. We're really happy to confirm pilot and ground crew all OK.'
Gribble, a pilot with 20 years' experience, in his mid-50s, and reportedly head of commercial helicopter company Helisika, was taken to Auckland City Hospital with minor to moderate injuries.
Wiped out: The helicopter, piloted by Greg Gribble, crashed as it was helping install a seven-storey Christmas tree in Auckland's Viaduct Basin in New Zealand
Crash site: The helicopter will remain near the Te Wero Island bridge until tomorrow
Wreckage: The pilot miraculously escaped alive from the horrific crash
His son Jaz told stuff.co.nz: 'I spoke to him not long after and it sounded like he was okay. But he was obviously quite shaken as you can imagine.
'Someone must have been looking out for him. That's all we could have prayed for - that he's safe and happy. Someone must have been on his side.'
His daughter Jade Gribble, who is nine months pregnant with her first baby, added: 'I'd say he's very, very lucky to walk away.'
'Someone must have been looking out for him. That's all we could have prayed for - that he's safe and happy. Someone must have been on his side.'
- Jaz Gribble (son of pilot Greg)
One witness, who gave his name as Richard, told APNZ the helicopter appeared to be about 5m from the ground when something snapped and it plunged.
He said: 'The scary thing was actually seeing everyone on the ground running for their lives. People started running away and then they started running back (to help the pilot).
'They wrenched the helicopter door open and helped him from the wreckage. It was a surreal feeling to be out of danger but watching it unfold before my eyes.
'The nice thing is I wasn't looking at someone's leg being chopped off.'
Jason Aarsen, who was sitting down for a break at the waterfront, added: 'I hear a massive whack of two power cables hitting each other and as I turned around, I just saw the helicopter drop, completely freefall.
'The blades blew out and completely freefalled down, snapped in half. It propped itself up and sat like a fish out of water. It was really gnarly. The pilot was sitting there, speaking.'
An investigation has now been launched by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with lead investigator Steve Walker already on the scene.
CAA spokesman Emma Peel told NZ Newswire the fact the crash was filmed would be of 'considerable assistance' to understanding what happened.
She said: 'The footage will likely become a big part of the investigation. It's one of those rare but very useful things that does happen from time to time.'
Gribble and a host of witnesses are now being interviewed, she said. And she added: 'From there we'll piece together a picture of what happened.'
The helicopter is expected to remain where it crashed on the busy Viaduct wharf, not far from waterfront restaurants, until tomorrow. The CAA expects to publish a preliminary report within four weeks.
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