Lucky You're Tough

Ron Crosby, Mark Law

• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Year: 2026
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781761892103
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

Hero Whakaari helicopter pilot and former NZSAS soldier Mark Law on surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career.
Lucky You're Tough chronicles the life of helicopter pilot and NZSAS soldier Mark Law, from growing up in the rural wilds of Whangamomona through to surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career.
After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and then working as private security in active war zones, Mark returned to New Zealand to start his own helicopter business, Kahu NZ. While on a sunny day off on 9 December 2019, he got the call that Whakaari/White Island was erupting. All those years of service and expertly trained instincts led to a split-second decision: Mark and his Kahu NZ colleagues would fly to the erupting volcano to rescue any survivors they could find.
This daring rescue mission would ensure that Mark and the other pilots were able to comfort the injured, as well as to fly those 12 stranded survivors off the island, after they were left there when authorities announced that no official rescue would be coming. Mark's decision led to himself and his fellow heroic pilots being awarded medals for bravery by the New Zealand government.
Within 12 months of the Governor General presenting his medal, however, his one-man company was hit with a six-figure penalty based on charges brought by WorkSafe related to Kahu's past tours on Whakaari. The decision to lay those charges made a year after the eruption outraged New Zealanders and led more than 140,000 Kiwis to sign an online petition asking the government to drop the charges. They didn't.
From Whangamomona to Whakaari, Lucky You're Tough is a story of service, adventure, humour and resilience, and surviving when the odds are against you.

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• AUTHOR’S NOTE
• PROLOGUE: THE BOOK THAT ALMOST WASN’T
• CHAPTER 1: A BOY FROM WHANGAMŌMONA
• CHAPTER 2: NZSAS SELECTION AND CYCLE TRAINING
• CHAPTER 3: SERVING IN THE NZSAS
• CHAPTER 4: BRITISH SAS AND THE CIRCUIT
• CHAPTER 5: CLOSE CALLS IN ANGOLA AND ON TO ALBANIA
• CHAPTER 6: TAKING TO THE SKY
• CHAPTER 7: FLYING ADVENTURES ABROAD AND AT HOME
• CHAPTER 8: UP ONE MINUTE, DOWN THE NEXT
• CHAPTER 9: WHAKAARI
• CHAPTER 10: MOVING FORWARD
• EPILOGUE
• PICTURE SECTION
• APPENDIX: THE WHAKAARI PROSECUTION
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS