Pilot killed in hotel helicopter crash revealed as Nautilus Aviation employee celebrating promotion
Stunning revelations have been made about the pilot of the ill-fated helicopter flight.
The pilot killed in a helicopter crash at a hotel in far north Queensland has been identified as New Zealand national Blake Wilson, who had been celebrating his promotion with colleagues in the lead-up to his death, it has been confirmed.
The unauthorised flight ended in tragedy at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns just before 2am on Monday.
His employer Nautilus Aviation, which owns the Robinson R44 helicopter involved, has confirmed the man was a current ground crew worker who had been with the company for about four months.
It was also revealed Wilson, 23, from Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island, had previous flying experience.
“Although the employee held a New Zealand (commercial helicopter) pilot’s licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,” Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn said.
The company confirmed speculation about a party involving employees and off-duty pilots on Sunday, with Wilson due to move to a new base at Horn Island in the Torres Strait.
“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,” Finn said.
“This was not a work event and was co-ordinated by friends.”
Finn said the company was working with authorities investigating the crash.
“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,” Finn said.
Hundreds of hotel guests were evacuated and two people were taken to hospital after the helicopter crash, which caused a “massive explosion”.
