What happened
During an on-demand sightseeing excursion from Wanaka to Milford Sound, a twin engine aircraft went down on the Blue Duck Glacier. The flight was transporting nine passengers along with one pilot at the time of the accident. The wreckage was discovered several hours after the event at an elevation of 5,400 feet.
All 10 fatalities were recorded following the impact. There were no survivors from the crash site located near Milford Sound.
Findings
Investigators were unable to establish a definitive reason for the accident due to several complicating factors. The remote nature of the glacier meant there were no witnesses available to provide details regarding the flight path or the aircraft's behavior before hitting the mountain slope. Furthermore, the lack of any survivors and the absence of direct operational or structural evidence prevented officials from identifying the specific cause of the impact.