The coroner hearing evidence about the death of United States hunter Cliff Senter near Wanaka has promised a "remorseless'' examination of the facts, after concerns about the investigation were raised by an expert witness yesterday.
Clifford Wayne Senter (57) died after falling 184m down a bluff, moments after disembarking from a helicopter during an alpine hunting expedition in the upper Albertburn catchment on May 22, 2006.
The inquest into his death resumed in the Queenstown Coroner's Court yesterday after an initial three-day hearing last month. Coroner Alan Macalister had heard Mr Senter was wearing inappropriate boots, suffered arthritis and was overweight.
Yesterday, professional mountain and ski guide Gary Dickson, of Wanaka, testifying as an expert witness, said the landing site chosen for the hunting party to disembark was "very small'' for three people and "treacherous'' because of slippery conditions.
"I consider it fortunate that there were not further injuries or deaths of at least one or both of the other members of this party that unloaded on to that site under those conditions that afternoon,'' he said.
Mr Dickson, the Wanaka Alpine Cliff Rescue Team's team leader, was involved in efforts to recover Mr Senter's body, and later visited the site as part of the investigation into Mr Senter's death.
Following the accident, he identified a list of nine safety issues and four recommendations to avoid such an incident happening again, which he yesterday said were "preliminary findings'' to assist police in their inquiry.
Mr Dickson's concerns included a lack of communication between hunting guide Rachel Stewart and pilot Harvey Hutton, the choice of landing site, the boots worn by Mr Senter, the loss of visual contact between Miss Stewart and Mr Senter moments before he fell, and guides being pressured to "cave in'' on safety issues.
However, yesterday he also told Mr Macalister there remained a need for a more objective and detailed investigation of the accident, either by himself, an agency such as the Civil Aviation Authority, or another independent organisation.
That included examining what role, if any, the hunting trip's "reward'' method of payment where pilots were paid only if clients successfully shot an animal - played in the accident, he believed.
"There a number of safety concerns that have led to the situation we are looking at. I think the industry would benefit greatly from . . . a more detailed investigation to meet the objectives that I believe we are here for,'' he said.
CAA rotary wing and agricultural operations manager John Fogden, also giving evidence yesterday, confirmed the CAA did not investigate after determining Mr Senter's accident occurred outside the helicopter, and therefore outside its jurisdiction.
Asked why he did not voice his concerns earlier, Mr Dickson said he did not feel it was his place to instruct police about the direction of their inquiry immediately following Mr Senter's death.
That prompted Mr Macalister to decide the hearing would be adjourned at its conclusion to allow Mr Dickson to provide police with a list of his concerns. The list could lead to further witnesses being called, Mr Macalister said.
"I certainly will be interested to read them because I'm absolutely determined that this inquest will be a very thorough inquiry,'' he said.
The hearing continues today.
