Royal New Zealand Navy dive support vessel HMNZS MANAWANUI under command of Lieutenant Commander Kerry Driver has come from the Devonport naval base and is off the Raglan coast this morning (Friday 5th) on its way to the site of the plane crash 30km south west of Raglan.
MANAWANUI is a specialist dive supprt vessel and will work with police to help recover the bodies of Eric Hertz, 58, and his wife Katherine, 64, from the ditched plane. It is also has the capability to lift the plane from seabed and has specialist equipment including a recompression chamber and dive bell and has the elite Navy divers to assist in the operation. The ship has lifting and four point precision anchoring which will be invaluable to the recovery team.
Sea and swell at the crash site near Gannet Isand is running at 3 metres with conditions too dangerous for recovery work. The sea is expected to drop to 2 metres by Saturday afternoon and drop further to 1.5 metres holding at that level till Wednesday. This would allow a period for the Navy to work in average conditions.
The vessel’s commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Kerry Driver said conditions were expected to improve from Saturday. “But really, we’re going to get down to the area and assess the weather conditions in consultation with the police and the dive squad,” he told Radio New Zealand on Thursday.
He said there would have to be further investigation on whether they would be able to lift the plane from the seabed. “We’ll still need to have divers investigate the scene, but really we’re just here to support the New Zealand police.”