1965 - Laying line in Waioeka Gorge

J W Rogers (1907 – 1973), Bay of Plenty Power Board engineer and Frank Mettner, 30 March 1965.
Frank Mettner (1926 – 1968) was contracted by the power board specifically for the installation of power poles and laying line in the Waioeka Gorge. In 1968 while spraying along the Waiapu River, the main planet gear of Mettner’s Hiller UH-12E disintegrated resulting in separation of the main rotor assembly and crashed in the riverbed. Mettner did not survive the crash.