On 21 November 2015, a Eurocopter AS350 Astar helicopter, operated by Alpine Adventures on a sightseeing flight, crashed on Fox Glacier in the South Island of New Zealand.

Registered as N3598F, it had been based in the United States from its construction until 1995 when it was sold to a New Zealand company by RTS Aircraft Services Corp of Montvale, New Jersey.

[1] According to Alpine Adventures' quality assurance manager, Barry Waterland, the helicopter crashed just after taking off from the glacier at a designated spot called The Chancellor.

Police Inspector John Canning told the media that the emergency service helicopter crews saw no sign of life, They had to return to Fox Glacier village as the weather was too bad for them to land.

[13] The day following the crash four bodies were recovered from the site, but operations were suspended due to worsening weather conditions.

[14] The weather cleared for an hour on 25 November allowing recovery teams consisting of Police, Alpine Cliff Rescue, and drone operators to land on the glacier.

[17] In late March 2016 more helicopter parts were recovered from the crash site by professional mountaineers employed by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).

[22] Local news reports stated that the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) had received a complaint a few days prior to the crash about the lack of landing markers on the glacier.

[23] The TIAC report into the crash was released on 23 May 2019,[24] and found that the helicopter struck the glacier surface with a high forward speed and a high rate of descent, the all-up weight of the helicopter almost certainly exceeded the maximum permitted weight, the weather conditions on the day were unstable and unsuitable for conducting a scenic flight and the localised weather conditions in the area were very likely to have been frequently below the minimum criteria required.

CAA Director Graeme Harris said, "The action taken did not in any way pre-determine the outcome of the investigation [into the 2015 helicopter crash] to be carried out".

[26] Scott and his Organisational System Manager Barry Waterland had been charged by CAA on 3 June 2016 under Health and Safety legislation at the Greymouth District Court.

[22] In July 2017 the General Aviation Advocacy Group of New Zealand (GAA) raised concerns about the CAA flight operations inspector, Paul Mitchell Jones, who was involved in the investigation into the crash.

[31] Over two years after the initial Health and Safety charges were brought against Scott and Waterland, in September 2018, CAA and the Greymouth District Court advised that a hearing was scheduled for 28 November to set pre-trial and trial dates.