Helicopter pilot 'went to a party before crashing into hotel roof in fatal unauthorised flight'

13 August 2024, 11:11

A pilot attended a party the night before crashing a helicopter into the roof of a hotel in Australia.

The pilot died after crashing the helicopter into the roof of the Hilton Doubletree hotel in Cairns, a city on the north-eastern coast, shortly before 2am local time on Monday morning.

No one else died, although two hotel guests in their 70s and 80s were hurt.

The pilot was the only person inside the helicopter, which belonged to local helicopter tour agency Nautilus Aviation.

He worked as a member of the ground crew at a separate Nautilus location.

He was licensed to fly helicopters in New Zealand, but not in Australia.

The pilot had gone to a private drinks party that was attended by off-duty pilots, but which Nautilus said was not a work event.

The company said he gained “unauthorised access to our helicopter hangar" before taking off and crashing.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter appear to be out of control before the crash.

One person described the scenes as "absolute madness". They added: "Boy that was going fast the helicopter... a red helicopter... it went past twice.

"It was just going out of control that thing was."

Two of the rotor blades came off in the crash, ending up in the pool and on the esplanade.

Nautilus said: "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".

Videos shared online show a large fire breaking out. The hotel was evacuated.

Queensland Police said: "The pilot and single occupant of the aircraft was located and declared deceased at the scene, and forensic investigations are under way to formally identify them.

"The building was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries sustained by people on the ground.

"The Forensic Crash Unit, working alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), will prepare a report for the coroner."

Police put up a safety perimeter around the hotel.