RNZAF officer charged over helicopter crash

BREAKING NEWS: A Royal New Zealand Air Force officer has been charged in relation to the Anzac Day Iroquois crash, which killed three men.

Flight Lieutenant Hayden Madsen, 33, Flying Officer Dan Gregory, 28, and Corporal Ben Carson, 25, were killed, when the Iroquois they were in crashed into the side of a hill at dusk on Anzac Day, 2010.

Following an investigation, the New Zealand Defence Force confirmed an air force officer was charged with committing a Service offence under the Armed Forces Discipline Act.

"The formation leader has been charged with negligently failing to perform a duty... The charge does not allege that the accident was directly caused by this omission," the NZDF said.

The charge alleges that the officer, who was in command of the formation that crashed Iroquois was travelling in, "negligently failed" to abort the mission of the formation when weather conditions deteriorated so much so, that visibility was lost.

The Defence Force said a formal investigation would take place on April 4.

The only survivor of the crash, Sergeant Stevin Creeggan, is trying to prosecute the Defence Force.

A military court of inquiry partially blamed sub-standard protocols and a culture of "rule breaking" among 3 Squadron for the crash.

It said their night vision goggles were rendered useless by a lack of moonlight, and they were not properly prepared to fly using only their instruments.