EXCLUSIVE
The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen aircraft into a waterfront hotel partied with colleagues at a boozy farewell dinner held in his honour before he embarked on the fatal flight.
New Zealander Blake Wilson, believed to be in his mid-20s, was piloting a Robinson 44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at 1.50am on Monday.
The ‘unauthorised’, four-minute journey took off from the Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am, completing several circuits across the mudflats and over the city’s Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone.
Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying dangerously low before it smashed into the hotel roof and burst into flames.
Mr Wilson landed a ground crew role with Nautilus Aviation in April this year and had just been promoted to a position as a refueller on Horn Island above ‘s Top End, which he was due to start on Monday.
Colleagues at Nautilus held a farewell dinner for Mr Wilson on the Sunday evening, just hours before he embarked on his fatal flight.
Nautilus Aviation said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon that the dinner was ‘not a work event and was coordinated by friends’.
‘We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning’s incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases,’ the statement added.
Aaron Finn, CEO of Nautilus, described the crash as ‘very unfortunate’ and suggested it was not being treated as deliberate by investigators.
‘He was a great employee, we had no concerns about his well being or his mental state,’ Mr Finn said.
Nautilus Aviation confirmed that the pilot was ‘a current employee in a ground crew position, joining approximately four months ago’.
‘Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot’s licence, they have never flown in or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,’ the statment added.
The company said it had completed interviews with the n Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland Police and had ‘cooperated with full transparency and disclosure of all events leading up to and following the incident on Monday morning’.
It added: ‘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 young pilot is originally from Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island.
Mr Wilson gained his private pilots licence with Christchurch Helicopters in April 2022.
The Robinson 44 was only in the air for four minutes before it crashed, with witnesses claiming the chopper was flying at a high speed and low to the ground.
The crash caused a massive fire on the roof of the hotel and a mass evacuation of up to 400 guests and staff during the early hours of Monday.
An 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition after they were assessed by paramedics.
Debris from the helicopter was found up to 80 metres from where it crashed, with two of its rotor blades dislodging.
One of the blades was found in the hotel pool, located on the bottom floor, while the second landed on the Cairns Esplanade opposite the hotel.
Police have confirmed the pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter and was declared dead at the scene.
The n Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation, which will focus on the sequence of events that led to the crash.
MONDAY AUGUST 12
– A Robinson R44 four-seat light helicopter leaves Nautilus Aviation at Cairns airport’s general aviation hanger in the early hours of the morning
– Eye witness sees the helicopter fly around Cairns CBD at speed before hitting the DoubleTree by Hilton roof in a ‘massive explosion’
– About 1.50am emergency services are called to the hotel
– About 3.30am police declare a Public Safety Preservation Act exclusion zone as hotel guests are evacuated. A man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s are taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and later released
– About 5.15am Queensland Ambulance Service rule it unsafe for emergency crews to enter the hotel to view the impact site due to fire. It’s revealed the helicopter propellers were dislodged on impact, with one landing on the street outside and the other in the hotel pool while still on fire
– About 9.15am police confirm the pilot – the helicopter’s sole occupant – died at the scene
– About 10am charter company Nautilus Aviation confirms it owns the helicopter but an ‘unauthorised’ flight had occurred
– 1pm Police do not confirm whether the helicopter had been stolen but tell media it had been ‘moved’ from Cairns airport’s general aviation hangar.
– About 6.20pm helicopter wreckage removed from Cairns hotel roof
TUESDAY AUGUST 13:
– About 6.50am n Transport Safety Bureau say initial information indicates the helicopter had been airborne for five minutes before the crash.
– The ATSB probe will focus on the crash and its cause while police investigate how the chopper was taken on an unauthorised flight
– 4PM Nautilius Aviation confirm one of their ground crew workers crashed the plane after taking it from their airport hanger after a work dinner
– He was identified as New Zealander Blake Wilson
– He did not have a licence to fly a chopper in