Double Tree Cairns - Chopper Crashed into Roof

[moa999]

for the fun part of trying to find a comparable hotel for 2 adults and 2 children at short notice

Have you received any indication that the hotel will be closed for the weekend?

 

[Dr_Goz]

Diamond HH lapsed earlier this year, and got a good deal through Qantas Hotels.
Email received from them earlier today:

We wanted to contact you with some important information regarding your upcoming stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cairns.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cairns have unfortunately been impacted by a Helicopter crash during the night of 11th August.
Our deepest sympathies go out to those people involved in the incident.

The hotel is unfortunately unable to accommodate your booking due to this incident and have advised of the following options.

1. A full refund of your booking back to the original form of payment.
2. Change your booking to a future date (subject to availability)
3. Rebook to an alternative accommodation on any of the options on this link here subject to availability

 

[DC3]

What was the registration of the helicopter?

In post # 18?

 

[UP4014]

Diamond HH lapsed earlier this year, and got a good deal through Qantas Hotels.
Email received from them earlier today:

We wanted to contact you with some important information regarding your upcoming stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cairns.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cairns have unfortunately been impacted by a Helicopter crash during the night of 11th August.
Our deepest sympathies go out to those people involved in the incident.

The hotel is unfortunately unable to accommodate your booking due to this incident and have advised of the following options.

1. A full refund of your booking back to the original form of payment.
2. Change your booking to a future date (subject to availability)
3. Rebook to an alternative accommodation on any of the options on this link here subject to availability

Reported they relocated 400 guests today, probably easy to do on an August Monday but a bit harder on the weekend.

 

[DC3]

The hotel is unfortunately unable to accommodate your booking due to this incident and have advised of the following options …..

…. 3. Rebook to an alternative accommodation on any of the options on this link here subject to availability

There’s no link visible to show what accommodation options were offered

 

[Dr_Goz]

There’s no link visible to show what accommodation options were offered

The link was just to the Qantas hotels website with the dates prefilled, so not very useful.

 

[RSVKanga]

In post # 18?

No…the one that crashed

 

[justinbrett]

The link was just to the Qantas hotels website with the dates prefilled, so not very useful.

It implies they will pay for it. You just have to pick a hotel with availability.

I imagine direct bookings went straight to the Hilton Cairns, assuming they had enough availability.

 

[oz_mark]

No…the one that crashed

If it helps...

The ATSB is investigating a collision with a building involving a Robinson R44 II, registered VH‑ERH, at Cairns, Queensland, on 12 August 2024.

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

www.atsb.gov.au

 

[Dr_Goz]

It implies they will pay for it. You just have to pick a hotel with availability.

I imagine direct bookings went straight to the Hilton Cairns, assuming they had enough availability.

Nah,
When clicking the link it ((See other offers) ) it is just the Qantas Hotels website with the dates pre-filled and now I look a limit of $313 per night.
Just clicked on an option for Fitzroy Island Resort - and it's looking like a a normal booking that I have to make again and pay up front.
Either way - requested the refund, refundable booking anyway, see how long it takes.

As said previously, of all the places on the Esplanade, mildly frustrating it is this one.

 

[jastel]

The only chopper that regularly flies around at night up here is Rescue 510...sometimes rescuing people but mostly chasing juvie car thieves.

 

[justinbrett]

Nah,
When clicking the link it ((See other offers) ) it is just the Qantas Hotels website with the dates pre-filled and now I look a limit of $313 per night.
Just clicked on an option for Fitzroy Island Resort - and it's looking like a a normal booking that I have to make again and pay up front.
Either way - requested the refund, refundable booking anyway, see how long it takes.

As said previously, of all the places on the Esplanade, mildly frustrating it is this one.

I think you would have to call to be rebooked without paying again. The weblink was most probably showing you the options available. Unlikely they’d have this functionality built in, and likely Hilton are paying (it does say they are the options the hotel is offering, not QF hotels)

 

[eastwest101]

The only chopper that regularly flies around at night up here is Rescue 510...sometimes rescuing people but mostly chasing juvie car thieves.

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.

 

[jastel]

The Airport Claims NO Security Breach...

These criminals can barely drive cars, and they have seen how to do that from watching people and playing games...a chopper would be a stretch I reckon.

Ex employee maybe??

Lots of contradictory information going on.
One eye witness claims it went full speed into the hotel.
Next eye witness claims it was hovering, engine sounding sick, and trying to land.

NO buildings in Cairns have a Helipad on the roof as it is in the airport flightpath.
The Hospital was not even allowed to have one, they land on the Esplanade across the road so they can fly in over the water low.

 

[QF WP]

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.

No kids, there was only one person on board and none of the pilots from the owner of the aircraft.

Pilot flying stolen helicopter killed after crashing into Cairns hotel

Up to 400 people were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton on Cairns Esplanade after the crash, which set the top of the building alight.

www.abc.net.au

 

[clifford]

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.

I doubt if kids could even get the thing in the air, let alone stay there for 45 seconds. IMO, the person that "stole" this helo likely had some aviation experience. If it were kids, then why just one?

 

[RSVKanga]

Regardless of whether this was accidental or a deliberate terror attempt, the company who owns the helicopter has a small history of their items being ‘stolen’, such as in a 2018 incident where one of their corporate vehicles was stolen from an employee’s home after a break-in.

No Cookies | The Cairns Post

No Cookies | The Cairns Post

www.cairnspost.com.au

Of course a helicopter being stolen is a major escalation compared to vehicle theft, but both incidents suggest potential internal and external conflict with the company being expressed through thievery. Bet it’s an ex-employee.

 

[jastel]

There would hardly be anyone in Cairns that hasnt been impacted by the youth crime plague up here. Many company cars, trucks, Taxis, Ubers and even a marked POLICE car have been stolen.

When it gets real bad the Police use Rescue 510, and even hire Nautilus Aviation Choppers (in the daytime only as it has no special tracking equipment) to track the grubs. We even borrowed Townsville's POLAIR for a week or two...until thefts spiked down there again and it was sent back.
This usually happens just before Giggles visits, so he can boast about how we have the toughest juvie laws in the country etc etc....

Chopper was lifted off the roof earlier this evening by a crane.

 

[drron]

Of course a helicopter being stolen is a major escalation compared to vehicle theft, but both incidents suggest potential internal and external conflict with the company being expressed through thievery. Bet it’s an ex-employee.

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

 

[GrahamBRI]

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

Nautilus employee/contractor