The Helicopter Line (THL) safety manager and occurrence investigator — a Civil Aviation Authority-approved (CAA) position — Brad Maclachlan was this week awarded the CAA Director’s commendation award.
He received the award for demonstrating a sustained commitment to maintaining and improving aviation safety with his invention.
The award was announced at the annual Aviation Industry Association conference gala dinner, at the Wigram Air Base, earlier this week.
Mr Maclachlan, 33, who is based on the West Coast, established Coast Aviation in 2018.
He was motivated by the issues of the Hughes 500 door mechanisms.
Mr Maclachlan, said the award was a total but pleasant surprise.
The idea for his invention had come out of his daily job as safety manager.
"We were constantly seeing the doors open, at all times, or not even be closed at all," he said.
"There was no real quick fix and I was always looking to get it fixed.
"That is what the job is about — when something goes wrong you want to fix it.
"The idea came from frustration of the situation and what can we do to stop it."
In June, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission released its final report into the October, 2018 Wānaka helicopter crash, involving an MD 500D.
Pilot Nick Wallis and Department of Conservation workers Paul Hondelink and Scott Theobold were killed in the crash.
It found the unexpected opening of a rear door, which led to a pair of overalls flying out and being sucked into the tail rotor, was the cause of the crash.
Mr Maclachlan said the door issue was not easy to fix as there was a limited supply of parts for the Hughes 500 helicopters and you could only do so much with old parts.
But he put his thinking cap on and came up with a rotating tab system, these were fitted to all doors on the helicopter.
The pilot could see the tabs on all doors if he turned around in his seat and could recognise the pins were not in the right position.
He said it had been a long process to get the system approved, which was expected.
One of the systems had been attached to a helicopter from Wānaka and it was approved in New Zealand in 2021.
Approval in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration had just come through and he hoped to have approval from the United Kingdom authorities by the end of the year.
He is working on his first batch to launch on to the market soon.
Hughes 500 helicopters did a lot of commercial work in New Zealand, often referred to as the work horses of the helicopter industry.
THL chief executive Mark Quickfall, of Queenstown, said it was wonderful for Mr Maclachlan to get the award.
Mr Maclachlan was in a Hughes 500 in 2015, picking up some hunters near Harihari, on the West Coast, when one of the skids clipped a tussock, causing the helicopter to roll.
That was the end of his flying career but he stayed involved in aviation.
He still loved the helicopter industry and with his new invention he hoped to keep the industry achieving new heights.
