Fatal crash chopper retrieved near Lilli Pilli

The 72-year-old pilot involved in Sunday's fatal helicopter crash watched on yesterday as the wrecked aircraft in which his wife was killed was pulled from waters south of Batemans Bay.Helen Hansen, 70, died when the privately-owned Robinson R44 helicopter - piloted by her 72-year-old husband Victor Hansen - crashed into waters 50m from the coast near Lilli Pilli.Mr Hansen was rescued from the ocean by a bystander.He suffered minor hypothermia, but was otherwise unharmed.Lifesavers from the nearby Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club pulled Mrs Hansen from the water, but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.The crash occurred near the Hansens' million-dollar holiday home at Mosquito Bay in Lilli Pilli, which has a private helipad.Witnesses said they heard an explosion and a change in the aircraft's engine noise before it went down.Water police from Port Kembla and police divers from Sydney retrieved the chopper yesterday morning after they hooked an inflatable buoy onto the wreckage.They then towed it to the Mosquito Bay boat ramp.With the help of a tow truck, the chopper was then pulled out of the water and examined just after 11am. It was then transported to the Lake Illawarra police holding yard where it will be forensically and mechanically examined.Lifesavers from the Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club yesterday told of the harrowing conditions they braved to rescue the couple from the waters.Club captain Anthony Vella said the rescue had taken place in darkness and in cold waters covered in aviation fuel."That was our first night call- out, and the night call-out is probably more scary for us," Mr Vella said. "You can't see a lot of things, and you don't know what's floating out there."With a helicopter, too, with the aviation fuel, you can't see it burning, so we really didn't know, there was all those things that could possibly happen."Mr Vella praised the actions of the unknown bystander who rescued Mr Hansen from the ocean.He said Mr Hansen may not have survived if the unknown man had not dived into the water.Local real estate agent Robert McBride has known the Hansens since selling them their holiday home six years ago.Mr McBride described Mr Hansen as a "straight-shooting, honest human being"."He's a really nice man and so was his wife, they were lovely people, couldn't have met better people," he said. "It's a real tragedy."The Hansens flew weekly to Lilli Pilli from Broughton, near Berry, where they owned a farm.They are also thought to operate a business in Sydney.An earthmoving company operating under the Hansen name is located in the same Ingleburn street as a property owned by Victor and Helen Hansen.Investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing.