Pilot identified after horror helicopter crash
The young pilot who died after his helicopter plummeted into the roof of a Cairns hotel has been identified.
Blake Wilson, a 23-year-old from New Zealand, was flying the twin-engine chopper for only a few minutes before it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Far North Queensland.
Wilson had been celebrating a farewell party with co-workers just hours before the horror incident.
Nautilus Aviation, the company that owned the helicopter, confirmed the pilot had worked for them as a ground crew member for about four months and had been celebrating one final day with colleagues before moving to another air base.
In an updated statement on Tuesday night, police said initial investigations suggested Mr Wilson, who died at the scene, was the sole occupant of the helicopter at the time of the crash.
Following his tragic death, Nautilus Aviation issued a statement saying, “We would like to address rumours regarding a gathering of some Nautilus Aviation employees, including off-duty pilots, on Sunday night.”
“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."
While the company did not identify the pilot the time, they did reveal they held a New Zealand pilot’s licence.
“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,” company statement read.
“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.”
Mr Wilson had moved from New Zealand to Cairns for his flying training to follow his dreams of being a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters.
Image credits: Facebook