The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen aircraft into a beachfront hotel, causing a massive fire and mass evacuation, has been awarded “employee of the month.”
Blake Wilson, 23, was behind the controls of a Robinson R44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, far north Queensland, at about 1.50am on Monday.
The four-minute “unauthorised” flight took off from the Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane flying at high speed and dangerously low over the city’s Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone, before crashing into the roof of the hotel and bursting into flames.
Mr Wilson died in the crash, while an 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and up to 400 staff and guests were evacuated from the building.
The 23-year-old moved to Cairns from Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island in March and landed a job with the charter company a month later.
Although a fully qualified commercial pilot in New Zealand, Mr Wilson was not permitted to fly helicopters in Australia and was employed as part of the Nautilus ground crew.
Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn said he was “flabbergasted” that Wilson had been awarded employee of the month.
Blake Wilson, 23, was behind the controls of a stolen Robinson R44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof of a beachfront hotel.
Wilson’s four-minute “unauthorized” flight ended when he crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, triggering a massive fire and mass evacuation.
Mr Finn added that the young worker had also earned a promotion and was set to begin his new role as a bunker on Horn Island, off Australia’s Top End, on Monday.
“He won employee of the month on Friday, and we can’t fault him as a person or as an employee,” Finn said. The courier mail.
“So we’re all baffled and perplexed. I can’t say much more than that, other than he was a model employee.”
Company colleagues held a farewell dinner and drinks for Mr Wilson on Sunday night, just hours before he took off on the fatal flight.
Mr Finn said the company “cooked up some sausages” as part of a function on Thursday night to present the employee of the month award.
He reiterated that all Sunday night celebrations were privately organized by staff members and were held at locations around the city and not at the company hangar, as such gatherings were once held or permitted at those facilities.
Mr Wilson was a fully qualified commercial pilot in New Zealand and moved to Cairns in March before landing a job with Nautilus Aviation as a ground crew worker.
Nautilus CEO Aaron Finn (pictured) had awarded Wilson “employee of the month” just days before the fatal accident.
Mr Finn confirmed that his employees had gone home at 8.30pm and that it was Mr Wilson’s “prerogative” to stay out as he was not scheduled to work on Monday.
“It wasn’t a drunken night, it wasn’t a big night… if he wanted to stay out, that was his prerogative… so for everyone to denounce him and say it was a big drunken night, that’s wrong,” Finn said.
A witness told media that Mr Wilson was “intoxicated” at the celebratory dinner and had to be put to bed.
It is understood that at some point later in the evening, he left his room and got behind the wheel of a Nautilus vehicle which he drove to the company’s headquarters at Cairns Airport.
Mr Finn said the young employee “went unnoticed” after spending between 45 minutes and an hour in the hangar before taking off in the helicopter.
He added that Mr Wilson gained access to the hangar using a PIN code, which was shared among all staff.
The keys to the Robinson R44 were inside the helicopter, a practice Finn said was common among operators.
More to come…