Singapore-based Hevilift said the debris, which "indicates a crash landing", was found by ground teams after the Bell 206's tail-boom was spotted from the air early Friday morning.
The search had narrowed significantly after a villager found plastic fragments from the helicopter in the thick Purari River jungle near Bawata village on Thursday, and the wreckage was discovered upstream.
Booij said Hevilift – which caters to mining and energy firms – would conduct a "thorough investigation of what went wrong and why it went wrong, and will also be co-operating fully with all authorities in their investigations".
"Until those investigations are complete, we will not be entering into any speculation," he said.
Aviation accidents are common in Papua New Guinea, where rugged terrain and a lack of internal connecting roads make air travel crucial for its six million citizens and the growing numbers of oil, gas and mining workers.
Source: agencies
