Pilot’s Wild Night Ends in Hotel Helicopter Crash

A pilot in Australia has died in a fiery crash after his company’s helicopter was hijacked and crashed into the roof of a Hilton hotel. Hours before the accident, he had attended a party celebrating a promotion on his behalf, his company said.

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning in the popular tourist town of Cairns, a coastal city near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. After the helicopter crashed into the Hilton’s Doubletree, hundreds of hotel guests were evacuated as smoke and flames billowed from the roof of the hotel.

A couple staying at the hotel was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and later released. No one else was injured in the accident, officials said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the company the pilot worked for released a statement giving new details about the circumstances of the crash.

Nautilus Aviation wrote that the person who died was a member of the company’s ground crew. He had a helicopter pilot’s license in New Zealand but was not authorized to fly in Australia.

The worker somehow “managed to gain unauthorized access to our helicopter hangar and misuse one of our helicopters.”

Hours before the crash, Nautilus Aviation employees had thrown a farewell party for the man, celebrating his promotion to ground crew at another of the company’s bases.

We can confirm that this incident did occur and that it was a privately organized dispatch for the individual involved in the incident on Monday morning,” the company wrote. “This was not a work incident and was supported by friends. was done.”

An unnamed source from the company told 9News Queensland that the worker had been drinking at the party before the crash.

About 400 people were evacuated from the Doubletree Hilton in Cairns after the helicopter crashed through the roof about 2am on Monday. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane fly at high speeds and especially on the ground as it flew along the coast. The Cairns Hilton is located right on the beach.

Witnesses also described seeing the helicopter zip by the hotel twice before crash into the roof.

Veronica Knight, who was staying at the Hilton that night, told CNN that she first saw the helicopter going “full speed” before it disappeared from view. A few minutes later it came back, and he saw the plane go straight for the hotel, hit the roof and burst into flames and smoke.

Knight posted a video of the aftermath of the crash on his Facebook page, showing orange smoke billowing from the roof of the Hilton as the alarm went off.

Amanda Kay, who was also a guest at the hotel, told the BBC that she saw the helicopter flying “extra low” during the rainy season. He said the plane was “blown up” by the impact.

Several Australian news outlets have reported that the dead pilot was 23-year-old Blake Wilson from New Zealand. Authorities have not officially released the victim’s name. Queensland Police Service (KPS) Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes told reporters that the helicopter had a single pilot.

Debris from the helicopter was removed from the roof of the hotel on Monday night, but the building remains cordoned off as authorities assess its structural integrity. The crash left burn marks and broken windows.

Two rotor blades of the helicopter were blown off in the accident. One landed on the hotel’s beachfront esplanade and the other in the pool, Queensland Ambulance Service said.

Nautilus Aviation says it is working with authorities and completing interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland Police. Recording equipment from the helicopter has been sent for analysis to better understand the events that led to the crash.

Investigators believe the helicopter was stolen from a Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport, about five kilometers from the Hilton Hotel.

Nautilus Aviation wrote that it “offers its deepest condolences to the family of this individual and to all those affected by this tragedy and continues to offer our support to our employees during this extremely difficult time.”

“We will continue to work very closely with the QPS and ATSB as they investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident.”