Fox Glacier helicopter company pair plead not guilty to safety breaches after fatal crash

Tuesday, 6 September 2016

Seven people died in a helicopter crash at Fox Glacier on November 21, 2015.

Two men have pleaded not guilty to breaching health and safety rules after a crash that killed seven people on the West Coast's Fox Glacier.

Fox & Franz Josef Heli-services owner James Scott faces three charges of breaching health and safety in employment following the November 2015 crash.

The company's quality assurance manager, Barry Waterland, has also been charged in relation to the crash.

Scott and Waterland have not yet appeared in the Greymouth District Court, but not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf on Tuesday.

* Cause of fatal crash unclear

* Glacier helicopter flights busy despite crash

* Fox Glacier helicopter wreck parts retrieved**

The pair were remanded to September 30.

The crash killed 28-year-old Kiwi pilot Mitch Gameren and six tourists: Andrew Virco of Cambridge in England, 50, Katharine Walker of Cambridge in England, 51, Nigel Edwin Charlton of Hampshire, 66, Cynthia Charlton of Hampshire, 70, Sovannmony Leang of New South Wales, 27, and Josephine Gibson of New South Wales, 29.

In May, the Civil Aviation Authority suspended Scott's Air Operating Certificate, but the company has since reapplied under a new name.

A company representative has been approached for comment.