A man who stole a helicopter was in the air for just four minutes before it crashed into a beachfront hotel, injuring two guests and forcing hundreds to evacuate the burning building.
Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in the far north Queensland city of Cairns at 1.50am on Monday.
Queensland Ambulance confirmed a helicopter “crashed into the roof of a hotel” and nearly 400 people were evacuated from the building.
The pilot, a man in his 40s, died while two people who were in one of the rooms were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.
Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in Cairns after a helicopter crashed into the roof of the building, causing a massive fire.
Part of the helicopter’s rotor blade landed in a park across the Esplanade (pictured)
The man is believed to have been an employee of Nautilus Aviation, a private charter company that operates from seven bases in northern Australia, including Cairns, The Australian reported.
The Nautilus helicopter, a Robinson 44, was taken off the airport’s general aviation wing at 1.48am and flown into the CBD via Cairns Esplanade, a no-fly zone.
It was in the air for only four minutes, and witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying at high speed and low altitude before crashing into the roof of the hotel.
Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn confirmed the helicopter was “stolen” and the flight was unauthorised and unplanned.
Mr Finn added that his company’s pilots were fine, but he could not rule out the possibility that another employee was responsible.
“We have quite a few people in the organisation. We can’t identify (the person responsible) from the CCTV footage, it’s too dark,” Finn said.
Doug Drury, head of aviation at CQUniversity, said the man could have gained access to the helicopter hangar by using a code or climbing over the fence.
Mr Drury explained that most aviation companies use code keypads to block access to their aircraft and the operations section of the airport.
“I’ve used them in airports all over the world, but it’s a common code and if you’ve ever worked in this place, then you’ll know where to go and how to get in,” Drury said. ABC News.
‘They are changing the codes and I imagine every facility at Cairns Airport now has a new code on their doors and on their door locks.
“They will review the images from all the security cameras to see how this person got in and how he was able to start the plane.”
Mr Drury added that the helicopter crash would force national and international airports to re-evaluate access and safety in the air.
More to come…
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