Double Tree Cairns - Chopper Crashed into Roof

[moa999]

Still nothing on the DT Cairns website. Kind of surprising if they are pushing bookings until the weekend.

 

[jase05]

Ex employee of the chopper company it seems

 

[Gold Member]

My current totally unsupported view is an ex employee of the Doubletree.

No doubt a disgruntled HH Diamond who didn’t get upgraded last visit.

 

[Saab34]

Ex employee of the chopper company it seems

I guess it now becomes a QPS matter and likely workcover also.

 

[GrahamBRI]

I guess it now becomes a QPS matter and likely workcover also.

QPS yes...... not sure about workcover...... not a work related event (not authorised to be at work or in the aircraft)...... not a journey incident as not associated with being at work.

 

[GrahamBRI]

From The Australian "The sole victim of the crash, who is yet to be named by police, was believed to be a current or former employee of Nautilus Aviation with access to the hangar at Cairns Airport."

 

[GrahamBRI]

From The Australian "The helicopter company which owned the aircraft that crashed into a Cairns hotel has confirmed the pilot flying before it struck the building had been employed as ground crew."
"Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot’s licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters"

 

[Saab34]

Can’t really pull a motive out of that article.

Last night in Cairns? Perhaps drugged up the eyeballs before heading remote?

Bombshell twist after helicopter is 'stolen' in Australia

The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen aircraft into a waterfront hotel in Cairns was a young Kiwi who had only recently moved to Australia to begin a 'new adventure'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[moa999]

Assume this was the room where the two guests suffered minor injuries. That would have been a shock in the early hours.

 

[Blackadder]

Still nothing on the DT Cairns website. Kind of surprising if they are pushing bookings until the weekend.

Looks like not taking bookings until 22/8

 

[DC3]

Assume this was the room where the two guests suffered minor injuries ..

I would hope that this was the case, and not the room of an average TwoTrees guest on check-out after a party.

 

[straitman]

When I first heard about this earlier today I expected to hear that the flight was unauthorized, I bet the police will be looking for a stolen car used to breach the fence on the GA side of Cairns airport, the helicopter was a piston engine type and its possible that opportunistic thieves might have incredibly been able to start it and get it airborne, obviously the way it was flown shows no sign of any professional pilot being at the controls so its likely that some teenage kids decided to "GTA it" that night, as it turns out - flying a helicopter in real life is more difficult than it is on the XBox.

Some of these theories sound wonderful however I defy anyone without experience/training to be able to start the aircraft let alone hover it and then get it flying. Hovering something like an R44 is actually much more difficult than hovering a much bigger machine as larger aircraft are inherently more stable.

 

[moa999]

DT Facebook claiming that hotel reopened yesterday. Wonder where @Dr_Goz is staying?

DoubleTree by Hilton

DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns is pleased to announce that after thorough safety assessments, the hotel has resumed operations and is welcoming guests back as of 14 August 2024. Please note that the...

www.facebook.com

 

[serfty]

Some of these theories sound wonderful however I defy anyone without experience/training to be able to start the aircraft let alone hover it and then get it flying. Hovering something like an R44 is actually much more difficult than hovering a much bigger machine as larger aircraft are inherently more stable.

From the information I came across, the person in question was able to fly helicopters in New Zealand but not licensed to do so in Oz.

 

[Saab34]

Either heavy Alcohol or Drugs here, surely. I note he finished the party at 830pm but didn’t arrive at the airport until 1am, and spend an hour hanging around in the hanger prior to departure.

That’s a lot of time in between to sample the latest in drugs or drink drink drink.

The Cairns party scene often goes late into the night, regardless what day of the week it is. No idea of its possible to get drugs samples from a charred corpse

 

[SFSC]

If it helps...

Collision with building involving Robinson R44 II, VH-ERH at Cairns, Queensland, on 12 August 2024 | ATSB

www.atsb.gov.au

I wonder if ATSB will continue with this investigation once they determine that the pilot was not qualified in Australia.

 

[oz_mark]

I wonder if ATSB will continue with this investigation once they determine that the pilot was not qualified in Australia.

If they think there are learnings and recommendations to be made, I would imagine so.

 

[SFSC]

If they think there are learnings and recommendations to be made, I would imagine so.

There would be a few in areas that are not exclusive to aviation but there may not be all that many that are relevant to a lawfully operated flight.

 

[Dr_Goz]

DT Facebook claiming that hotel reopened yesterday. Wonder where @Dr_Goz is staying?

DoubleTree by Hilton

DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns is pleased to announce that after thorough safety assessments, the hotel has resumed operations and is welcoming guests back as of 14 August 2024. Please note that the...

www.facebook.com

Of course it's open again prior to my arrival.

Staying at the Novotel Oasis instead. Not too bothered as the kids will enjoy the pool more

 

[RooFlyer]

@straitman how do you start a helicopter like that? Is there a key or some authorisation or you just start the start procedure?