A helicopter crashed onto the roof of an Australian hotel during an unauthorized flight early Monday, killing the pilot and injuring several others, authorities said.
The New Zealand Herald reported that the pilot was 23-year-old Blake Wilson from New Zealand.
The airline, Nautilus Aviation, confirmed to reporters that Wilson was an employee of the company but had never flown in Australia before.
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Broken windows hang precariously from the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel after a helicopter crashes in Cairns, Australia, in the early hours of Monday, August 12, 2024. (AAP Image via Brian Cathy/AP)
The company said he was a member of its ground crew and held a helicopter pilot’s licence in New Zealand but was not authorised to operate the company’s helicopters in Australia.
The man had worked for Nautilus for four months and had recently been promoted to a ground crew position at another of the airline’s bases, according to the company. Prior to the crash, he had been attending a social event with colleagues to mark his departure in his new role, the company said.
The company added that the flight was not authorised and that the helicopter had been “misused”.
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The crash early Monday left the plane engulfed in flames and forced hundreds of people to evacuate buildings.
Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes told reporters that a couple staying at the hotel were hospitalized with smoke inhalation and have since been released. No other people on the ground were injured.
Cairns Airport chief executive Richard Barker said initial findings from the investigation on Monday “did not reveal any compromises in the airport’s security programs or processes”.
Witness Veronica Knight walks in front of the wreckage of a helicopter in Cairns, Australia, after the plane crashed on Monday, August 12, 2024. (AAP Image via Brian Cathy/AP)
Barker said the airport operates under a “federally approved, multi-layered transportation security program.”
The accident happened in a busy tourist district of Cairns, a tropical city of 150,000 in far north Queensland state, currently in peak holiday season.
Witnesses told local media that the crash sounded like a bomb exploding.
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Smoke and flames were seen coming from the roof of the DoubleTree Hilton, and one of the helicopter’s rotors landed in the hotel’s swimming pool, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.
The hotel remains sealed off while its structural integrity is inspected.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Nautilus Aviation and Queensland Police for the latest updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
