Community
12 August, 2024
Pilot dead after chopper crashes into Cairns hotel
A PILOT is dead after a helicopter crashed into a Cairns hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
HUNDREDS of guests and staff were evacuated from the Double Tree Hilton on the Esplanade after the chopper plunged into the building about 1.50am.
The pilot - the only occupant of the helicopter - was declared dead at the scene by emergency service personnel. No-one else was injured.
CBD residents were awoken to the sound of a loud explosion caused by the crash of the twin-engine helicopter on the roof of the hotel, resulting in a big fire and a lot of damage to the rooms below.
Two propellers also fell from the helicopter, one on to the Esplanade and the other into the pool of the hotel.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is currently investigating the crash.
Eyewitness Veronica Knight was on a late-night stroll by the Esplanade before heading back to her room when she saw the helicopter, which she described as small and red, flying very low.
“I was sitting on the Esplanade when I heard and saw the helicopter go by real fast straight past me. It was about 1.45am,” she said.
“I was walking back towards the motel I’m staying in, and the helicopter came back so I chased it, I wanted to video it.
“After I followed it, it was going so fast, and then there was a big explosion, it darkened everything so it was hard to visualise it. I heard the explosion, saw the flames and I could smell the chemicals.
“It was a small red helicopter. The emergency people came by very fast and all I could think about was the people in the building because I could see the rooms with the windows completely demolished.
“That could be anyone, that could be me and you may not survive that.”
Queensland Police Service is yet to confirm any other information about the accident. It’s understood the helicopter was owned by Nautilus Aviation.
Another CBD resident, who asked not to be named, said she woke up to the sound of the helicopter flying by, followed by an explosion.
“Early this morning I heard a helicopter and then a very loud noise. I thought it could be either a car crash or a helicopter flying real low which is not unusual because they come over the front of the Esplanade,” she said.
“Then this morning at the office they mentioned it was a crash, I thought it could be a rescue chopper that could make more sense because why would a tourism helicopter be flying that early in the morning?
“Either way it’s tragic and also a miracle that more people didn’t get injured.”
The police have set up an exclusion zone encompassing the Esplanade, Minnie Street, Aplin Street and Grafton Street following the crash.
More information to come.
