The pilot attended a party before crashing a stolen chopper
A pilot who sadly lost his life after crashing a stolen helicopter into a hotel in Australia had attended a private farewell party with colleagues the previous evening, according to his employer.
The helicopter, owned by Queensland-based Nautilus Aviation, was involved in the accident. The company reported that the pilot, who had recently been promoted to a ground crew position at another base, had been celebrating with staff just hours before the crash.
Nautilus also mentioned that while the pilot was licensed to fly helicopters in New Zealand, he had no experience flying in Australia. After the party, he gained unauthorized access to the company’s helicopter hangar.
The helicopter crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns around 01:50 local time on Monday (16:50 BST Sunday), causing a fire and prompting the evacuation of about 400 guests. The pilot died in the crash, and two hotel guests were hospitalized but are in stable condition.
Nautilus clarified that the farewell party was a private event organized by off-duty pilots and friends, not by the company.
Authorities confirmed that the only person in the helicopter was killed at the scene, while two hotel guests – an elderly man and woman – were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Amanda Kay, a guest at the hotel on Cairns’ main esplanade, described seeing the helicopter flying “extra low” without lights in the rainy weather.
“It turned around and hit the building,” she said, noting that the aircraft “blew up.”
Another witness recounted seeing the helicopter fly past the hotel twice before the crash.
“Boy, that was going fast, that helicopter. Unbelievable,” a woman said in a video capturing the fiery aftermath of the incident.
“It was just going out of control, that thing was.”
Two of the helicopter’s rotor blades came off on impact, landing on the esplanade and in the hotel pool, according to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).
Nautilus Aviation said in its statement that it had completed interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Queensland Police Service (QPS), and had cooperated with full transparency on its disclosure of the events leading up to and following the incident.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual’s family and all who have been affected by this tragedy and continue to offer our support to our employees during this very challenging period,” the statement said.
“We will continue to work very closely with QPS and the ATSB as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Located in northern Queensland, the city of Cairns is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.
