A helicopter suffered at least $20,000 worth of damage when a man hurled rocks at it while it was idling near Waihi Village, at the southern end of Lake Taupo this morning.
Pilot Matt Boulcott was forced to make an emergency lift off after the rocks shattered his front window and hit him in the shoulder, 3 News reported tonight.
Mr Boulcott was collecting surveyors who had been monitoring a potential landslide after earthquakes and wet weather raised fears of a major landslide in the area.
The man pulled up in a van and started screaming and pelting the helicopter with rocks, Mr Boulcott said.
The attack lasted less than a minute but was enough to cause over $20,000 in damage to the helicopter.
The man continued to throw rocks at the helicopter in the air, smashing two windows and narrowly missing the rotor blade.
"He could have brought down the machine," Mr Boulcott said.
A man has been charged with assault and causing damage to an aircraft. He will appear in Taupo District Court tomorrow.
