A 33-year-old tourist has appeared in court this afternoon, charged after eight helicopters fighting a fire on Mount Roy in Wanaka had to be grounded when the man flew his drone in the area.
Police have charged Jorge Eduardo Riquelme Cruz with disregard for the safety of a transport facility. He appeared in the Queenstown District Court this afternoon.
The maximum penalty for the charge is 14 years imprisonment.
The fire raged on Mount Roy on Wednesday evening and throughout Thursday last week, threatening homes and a campsite.
Fire and Emergency NZ said they were set back because eight helicopters had to be stood down for 15 minutes, as soon as the drone was spotted.
But Police, Fire and Emergency NZ and pilots involved in battling the blaze said the situation could have become much worse.
"A collision with a drone, that could be pretty catastrophic… it could potentially bring a helicopter down," pilot Nick Wallis said.
"There's a lot of communication going on with the fire itself and you're moving quickly to get water. And then when you're going back to the fire, you're planning your next water drop. You're not looking for drones, so you wouldn't see it until it was too late."
But Riquelme Cruz's lawyer argued today that he believes he wasn't as close to the fire, and the helicopters, as police allege.
"He actually has the footage from the drone on his camera and he is a really long way away," lawyer Louise Denton told the court today.
The case comes after a drone pilot was charged over a similar incident at Pines Beach north of Christchurch in 2015.
Riquelme Cruz will reappear in court on January 29.
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