Travis Hughes, 37, and Whakatane pilot Chris Scott, 33, were killed when their single-engined Cessna 172 crashed in Gibbston, on January 29, 2005, while cannabis spotting.
Coroner Alan Macalister found the weight of evidence at the inquest supported the Transport Accident Investigation Commission’s conclusion into the cause — that while circling in the confined, mountainous valley, the aircraft briefly descended to low altitude, which did not conserve adequate manoeuvering margins from the valley sides.
"A further more rapid descent led to the aircraft colliding with the valley side in a controlled flight.
"The cause of further descent was not determined."
Travis and his wife, Fiona, moved to Queenstown from New Plymouth in 1996. He joined the criminal investigation branch in 2004, was in charge of the drug portfolio and had a huge appetite for search and rescue missions — he’d been awarded a commissioner commendation in 2003 and a medal for his 14 years’ service to the police.
He’s survived by his parents, David and Naomi, sisters Freda and Raewyn, all of whom now live in Cromwell, brothers Callum, of Invercargill, and Chris, of Te Anau, Fiona, who’s since returned home to Palmerston North, and daughters Amey and Sarah, who were just 5 and 3 when Travis died.
Speaking to Mountain Scene, Amey says she only has "a few flashes" of memories of her dad, while Sarah has only photos.
Following Travis’ death, Fiona says people they didn’t know started giving cash to former Queenstown cop Chris Blackford, "for the girls".
Then followed the Travis Hughes Memorial Golf Tournament — a fundraiser to support his daughters’ education; proceeds went into a trust, which was only wound up last year.
Sarah, now 23, who’s finished a Japanese degree at Wellington’s Victoria University, says she saw the list of people who contributed to the trust and their future last year.
"Some names were familiar, and others less so, but it was quite a surprise to actually see all of the names of people that were keen to help, and had a stake in seeing us grow up without missing out on any opportunities."
Meantime Amey, 25, is three years in to her PhD in biology, also at Victoria.
In Queenstown to mark the 20th anniversary, Travis’ family, old friends and workmates walked part of the Routeburn Track on Monday, after which some spent a night on Pigeon Island.
"He was a bit of a nature lover, and that’s why he got involved in SAR here; he liked being out of the office more than he liked being in it," Fiona says.
"Which is partly why he was in the aeroplane. He was quite looking forward to that trip, although he didn’t really like little planes, he liked helicopters more."
Yesterday, a special gathering was held at the Queenstown police station, while Fiona and the girls also plan to visit the crash site.
"I can’t really believe it [has been 20 years]," Fiona says.
"When you’ve got little children, it’s a grind — at the time it was quite hard work.
"But we’ve had a lot of support, his family is really close ... they’ve always been amazing."
Sarah echoes that sentiment, and says the Hughes family have been "awesome".
She’s also proud of her mum, who’s done "a kick-ass job" of raising the girls.
"You gave us enough love to count for two."
