Life Flight

When Clive Button returned to New Zealand in 1978, he didn’t expect to join a service that would transform emergency rescue in New Zealand. But that’s exactly what happened when he became a ‘volunteer crewman’ for his father, Peter Button, the visionary behind a pioneering rescue helicopter service.

“In the early days, Dad had a Hughes 300 helicopter,” Clive recalls. “I was working as a toolmaker, but I also became one of his helpers. The commercial work only really started when he purchased a Jet Ranger helicopter, and this supported the rescue side.”

While Peter Button carried out commercial jobs like lifting air conditioning units onto rooftops, he never hesitated to drop everything when someone needed help.

The Jet Ranger helicopter marked a turning point in New Zealand’s rescue capabilities.

“It was New Zealand’s first commercial helicopter to be fitted with a winch – only the RNZAF had them earlier,” Clive explains. “Before that, the stretcher was suspended under the Hughes 300 helicopter with a rope and could only move people for short distances.”

But it wasn’t just the aircraft that levelled up – Clive and others began crafting custom rescue equipment, drawing international attention.

“People came from the USA to see the gear Dad had for rescue and life support” Clive recalls.

Following Peter’s tragic passing on November 20, 1987, Clive stepped in to help Life Flight, showing up every day for six months to manage the business before  being offered an Aircraft Engineering role at Ansett NZ.

Not long after, a Wellington businessman offered to purchase the rescue service – with Clive as manager. Clive talked it over with his wife, Linda, and kindly turned down the offer.

Today, Clive remains a passionate Life Flight Ambassador and Life Member.

People often tell me how Dad/Life Flight rescued them. Dad’s dedication to a 24/7 rescue operation with twin engine pressurised fixed-wing aircraft and twin engine turbine helicopter continues today and he would be amazed at how large the operation has grown over the years. It’s good that his legacy can live on.