By Amanda Gillies
A steel cable may have been responsible for downing the helicopter which crashed at the Auckland Viaduct this morning.
The crash happened around 10.30 this morning, in an area packed with cafes, businesses and million-dollar yachts.
Incredibly, no one - including the pilot - was injured, and the only real damage was to the helicopter.
Pilot Greg Gribble was flung out the front door of the helicopter, still in his seat, before falling back in as the spinning rotor blades narrowly passed him.
After a brief hospital visit, Mr Gribble was back home this afternoon.
His son, also a helicopter pilot, says reality probably hasn't sunk in – but the family will be buying a few lotto tickets tonight.
When the crash took place Mr Gribble was installing a seven-storey fibre optic Christmas tree for Telecom.
It appears a cable snagged the helicopter rotor, causing it to come crashing down. Bystanders described the crash as “terrifying”.
“I heard a massive whack like, two cables touching each other, and then it just dropped out of the sky,” one person told 3 News.
Mr Gribble has been flying choppers for 20 years and is well known and respected in the aviation community.
The Civil Aviation Authority has carried out a preliminary investigation, and investigators have begun examining the crash site and interviewing witnesses.
3 News