The Royal New Zealand Navy dive support vessel HMNZS MANAWANUI under command of Lieutenant Commander Kerry Driver is en route from the Devonport naval base to the site of the crash 30km south west of Raglan to help recover the bodies of Eric Hertz, 58, and his wife Katherine, 64, from the ditched plane.
Sergeant Warren Shaw of the Waikato Search and Rescue Squad said a mixed team of Police, Navy, CAA, NIWA and Raglan Coastguard volunteers returned to the scene of the wreck this morning but conditions prevented the launch of another Remote Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). “Consequently the Coastguard vessel, Gallagher Rescue, has returned to Raglan where planning and coordination is continuing with a view of having operational options available for when the Navy’s dive support vessel, HMNZS MANAWANUI, arrives on Friday.
The Royal New Zealand Navy ship is carrying specialist equipment including a recompression chamber and dive bell and is also taking more Navy divers to assist in the operation. The ship has lifting and four point precision anchoring which will be invaluable to the recovery team.
The Navy’s elite Operational Dive Team are on board HMNZS MANAWANUI. The Operational Dive Team are the premier divers of the RNZN, trained for deep diving with mixed gases, underwater demolition and unexploded ordnance disposal.
“I just hope we can carry out our operation and provide some closure to the families,” Lieutenant Commander Kerry Driver said. “That’s the most important thing and obviously everyone’s feeling for the families of the two occupants of the aircraft.“
As the plane is at a depth of 56m and upside down embeded in the seabed the divers face difficluties in trying to retrieve the bodies. It is expected that a decision will be made today on how best to retrieve the wreck and recover its occupants.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it hoped to be able to retrieve the wreckage and the bodies within the next few days.
Deteriorating weather conditions and sea states have prevented further confirmatory exploration of the crash site where the multi-agency located the upside down wreckage of an aircraft on Tuesday. With inclement weather and sea conditions likely to continue on Thursday, Mr Shaw said this will provide an opportunity for the multi-agency team to plan, consolidate and carry out logistical tasks.