List: History of Australia’s most shocking helicopter crashes over the years
The helicopter crash in Cairns in August 2024 sadly added to Australia’s list of chopper tragedies.
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The helicopter crash in Cairns in August 2024 sadly added to Australia’s list of chopper tragedies.
These are some of the nation’s tragic helicopter crashes and incidents over the years.
December 10, 1966
Three people on board, including the ABC cameraman who captured the accident, were killed when their chopper crashed on Gold Fields House at Circular Quay, Sydney.
The crash happened in the centre of Sydney on a sunny Saturday afternoon when a Bell 47 helicopter that had been chartered by the ABC spiralled out of control and fell onto the roof of the newly completed Gold Fields House, and from there onto another building in Pitt Street.
The accident took the lives of all on board: ABC cameraman Frank Parnell, director Patricia Ludford and pilot James Riley.
Investigations revealed that the helicopter had crashed after the tail rotor had failed.
February 7, 1985
A Royal Air Force pilot was killed when his Chinook helicopter crashed near Toowoomba.
Flight-Lt Charles Chubb’s wife, Jenny, was at his bedside when he died without regaining consciousness a day later.
An RAAF spokesman said Flight-Lt Chubb, 38, suffered extensive brain damage in the crash and later developed respiratory problems.
Flight-Lt Chubb, an RAF pilot on exchange duty in Australia, was at the controls of the RAAF helicopter which crashed into Perseverance Dam northeast of Toowoomba.
Three RAAF airmen also on board the Chinook escaped with minor injuries.
The helicopter crashed 30 minutes after taking off from the Amberley RAAF Base on a routine navigational exercise.
May 30, 1985
One man was killed and another was injured in a helicopter crash at a station in the far north of Western Australia.
Police said the crash happened at about 9.30am on Ivanhoe station, 25km northwest of Kununurra.
They said the men were mustering cattle when the accident happened.
The pilot, Steven Lionel Rankin, 31, of Kununurra, was killed instantly.
September 18, 1986
A freelance cameraman miraculously survived a helicopter crash while filming a sequence for a major Australian movie.
Dan Burstall, 38, said he had escaped injury when the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter hit overhead powerlines and crashed into a paddock near Seymour while shooting a scene for the $10.5m feature film The Lighthorsemen.
The helicopter’s two other occupants also survived with minor injuries. Pilot Terry Lee, 38, of NSW, was treated for a fractured rib at Seymour Hospital, while the film’s co-producer, Mr Ian Jones, of Armidale, was treated for minor cuts.
Mr Burstall recorded the entire crash scene.
“As I was going down I thought ‘not me’,’’ Mr Burstall said.
July 12, 1988
A man was killed when the helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed in Arnhem Land, 300km east of Darwin.
Edward Kennedy, of Oenpelli, died when the Bell 57 helicopter went down about 50km east of the mining centre of Narbalek.
His son Trevor, eight, who was also aboard the helicopter, escaped injury.
Trevor and the helicopter’s owner-pilot, Mr Steven Styles, were flown to Darwin Hospital after walking to the nearby Numulawirie Aboriginal community.
Police said the trio was using the helicopter to muster cattle when the crash occurred about 6pm.
April 1, 1989
A helicopter crash in the Northern Territory was a Sydney man’s third escape from death in an air disaster.
Archie Raymond and his wife, Mary, were on board a helicopter for an aerial photographic excursion near Ayers Rock when the accident occurred.
A photographer who worked part-time for The Courier-Mail, Russell Francis, who was also on board the flight, said the engine cut out at 2500ft.
“I looked behind me and Mr and Mrs Raymond were hugging each other. We thought it was all over,’’ Mr Francis said.
He said Mr Raymond had survived two other aircraft crashes during World War II.
“I had crashed in a hot-air balloon once but this was much worse,’’ Mr Francis said.
January 3, 1990
A Channel 10 Perth film crew escaped serious injury early when their helicopter crashed seconds after takeoff.
The Bell Ranger five-seater chopper landed heavily on a road opposite the station.
The crash happened after a forced landing by pilot Drew Gibson.
The pilot was able to take off again and flew to about 120m when he lost power and the helicopter dropped, causing $20,000 damage.
The reporter and cameraman left the craft after the first forced landing.
March 3, 1991
Two men were killed in a helicopter crash in remote northwest Queensland.
Senior Sergeant Bob Coleman of Mount Isa said the helicopter, which was on an aerial mining survey from the Mitton Creek mining camp, came down near Lawn Hill Station in the boggy and rugged Gulf Country.
He said the only survivor staggered into the camp, 600km northwest of Mount Isa, to raise the alarm.
September 28, 1992
Cairns-based Sunshine Television cameraman Jonathon Daley, 25, died when the chartered helicopter he was in crashed into Trinity Inlet, off Cairns
Daley’s body was found the following week, about 120m from where he disappeared.
The pilot, Bill Larson, and another of the station’s cameramen, Mr Michael Marhim, scrambled to safety.
It was believed Daley was unable to free himself from a safety harness.
January 25, 1993
A pilot died and her husband was injured when their helicopter crashed on a north Queensland property near Charters Towers.
Police said the woman, 24, was killed instantly after she clipped trees while nosing the helicopter down to correct a malfunction.
The pilot and her husband, 27, her only passenger, were mustering cattle on Helenslee Station when the accident happened.
Her husband received head injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Charters Towers District Hospital.
March 22, 1993
A policeman and his grandfather were videotaped by relatives moments before they were killed in a helicopter crash during a family picnic.
The amateur video showed the pilot, Constable Christopher Gibb, 22, and Mr William Watts, 76, giving the thumbs-up to their family from the helicopter, which would crash moments later in a paddock at Tuggerah on the NSW Central Coast.
Constable Gibb, from Cronulla, had been taking his family on joy flights from his uncle’s property.
He had just landed with one of his nephews when Mr Watts walked towards the landing area for his first flight in a helicopter.
As the helicopter lifted off, a female voice on the videotape could be heard saying: “Wave to Poppy, bye Pop.’’
The two men waved goodbye and gave the thumbs-up to family and friends.
But minutes after takeoff, the family heard a bang as the helicopter slammed into the ground nearby.
“When I saw the smoke, I went up there and that was it,’’ Constable Gibb’s father, Mr Ron Gibb, said.
June 13, 1996
Eighteen elite troops died and 10 were seriously injured after a Blackhawk helicopter turned sharply and smashed into the rear of another during anti-terrorist exercises.
It was Australia’s worst peacetime military accident for 30 years.
Two Blackhawk helicopters carrying members of the Army’s crack Special Air Service – collided during the night exercise about 60km west of Townsville at 6.53pm.
One of the helicopters turned sharply and hit the rear of a second aircraft, causing both to crash to the ground, the army said today.
Six helicopters flying in darkness at up to 90 knots and about 150 feet above the ground were conducting routine manoeuvres when the accident occurred.
All the dead were travelling inside the helicopters during the exercise, which was to involve soldiers descending by rope to counter a mock terrorist attack.
February 22, 1999
A Gulf War veteran and his sister died on the way to her wedding when their helicopter hit power lines and burst into flames in southern New South Wales.
Huw Paffard, 33, was flying his sister Jaya, 27, to their parents’ property near Holbrook, north of Albury, where she was due to marry her fiance, Francis Chee.
The pair died instantly when the Bell 426 helicopter came down about five kilometres from their destination just after 6pm.
Jaya was wearing her white wedding gown at the time of the crash.
There were 150 guests at the property, including their parents, Peter and Anne Paffard, and two younger brothers, waiting for the bride and her brother to arrive.
Mr Peter Paffard, who is brigade captain of the Lankey’s Creek branch of the Rural Fire Service, saw a plume of black smoke and radioed his fire centre to see what had happened, Mr Bill Darlow, a colleague said.
“It’s a real nightmare,’’ Mr Darlow said.
“You have got no idea … I can’t imagine exactly what it would be like.’’
July 25, 2000
A rescue helicopter flying a sick boy to hospital crashed in darkness and heavy fog, killing all five people on board.
The Capricorn Rescue Service helicopter was running low on fuel and trying desperately to find a safe place to land when it slammed into a field near Marlborough in central Queensland.
The sick child, his mother, the experienced pilot and two male paramedics, aged 52 and 30, were killed.
The paramedics were known to Townsville ambulance crews who were “devastated’’ by the tragedy, Queensland Ambulance Service northern region executive director Neil Kirby said.
The helicopter had flown to pick up the five-year-old boy who had breathing problems and his mother, 30, from a remote property northwest of Rockhampton.
The helicopter was scheduled to land in the small town of Marlborough and the child was to be taken by ambulance 100km south to the Rockhampton Hospital.
August 30, 2001
Rock legend and television personality Graeme “Shirley’’ Strachan died in a helicopter crash north of Brisbane.
Strachan, 49, was seen upside down in high winds just before his helicopter crashed in rugged bush.
The owner of Blue Tongue Helicopter Services Graeme Gillies said Strachan was flying solo in the helicopter, which crashed on Mt Archer near Kilcoy, northwest of Brisbane, at about 4pm.
A police spokesman said rescuers were making their way on foot through rugged country to the wreck after camping overnight near the crash scene.
Mr Gillies said Strachan, who lived at Cooroy in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, was just six hours away from sitting his final test to become a qualified helicopter pilot.
The Bell-47 he was flying crashed into the top of a 200m cliff. Police said no distress call had been made.
As well as being lead singer for ‘70s rock icon group Skyhooks, Strachan had been a popular TV and radio personality for more than 20 years.
Pop guru Molly Meldrum struggled to hold back tears as he paid tribute to his friend of almost 30 years.
“His talent abounded. He was a surfie-cum-carpenter who became a huge musical talent and terrific TV performer,” he said.
June 7, 2002
The sole survivor of a helicopter crash that killed four men told how he crawled covered in fuel from the burning chopper, which had hit the ground “like a rock”.
From a bed in Royal Darwin Hospital, anthropologist Robert Graham told of the shocking suddenness of the crash and of how he lay injured for 24 hours before being rescued.
Graham, 47, has had skin grafts after suffering burns in the crash in Arnhem Land.
“We were only two or three times higher than the biggest tree,’ Graham said.
“The helicopter suddenly lost power and the pilot said something like ‘this is going to be hard, hang on boys’.
“We fell from the sky like a rock.
“From start to finish the whole thing took about two to three seconds.”
June 25, 2003
Talented former student of The Southport School Shaun Franks was killed when the helicopter he was learning to fly spiralled out of control and crashed in dense bushland southwest of Sydney.
It was the Ashmore 18-year-old’s second training flight as he aimed to fulfil his lifelong dream to become a helicopter pilot.
Franks had planned to return to the Gold Coast the day after the crash to complete his flight training.
The pilot, Fraser Shannon, 42, an experienced flying instructor with more than 3000 hours flying, was also killed.
Witnesses reported hearing sputtering and a loud bang and then saw the Robinson Mark 22 aircraft spin out of control, with debris flying, before it ‘fell from the sky’ into rugged bush near the Warragamba Dam about 8.45am.
Parents Mike and Pam said their son had dreamt about becoming a helicopter pilot since he was a small child.
“He was in and out of helicopters from the age of three,” said Mr Franks. “When we lived at Goondiwindi, Pete would fly up and pick him up.
“It was his lifelong goal and his uncle was helping him to achieve his dream. We know he died doing what he loved.”
July 21, 2004
A former Geelong Grammar student was killed when his helicopter hit powerlines and crashed near Wodonga.
Guy Crossing, 38, was a father of two. His wife Edwina was due to give birth to the couple’s third child in three weeks’ time.
Crossing, the sole occupant of the Bell 47 Soloy helicopter, was cropdusting near the NSW border, 10 km west of Wodonga, when the accident occurred about 3.30pm.
The pilot and his family had recently moved to Wodonga.
Mr Crossing attended Geelong Grammar for six years where he was a member of Francis Brown House.
He grew up on a large property near Broken Hill where helicopters were used to farm.
Retired Geelong Grammar housemaster Glen Bechly said he had been saddened to hear of Mr Crossing’s death.
“They were very salt of the earth people,’’ Mr Bechly said.
September 11, 2004
Brian Oxenford, the Queensland cattle king, was killed in a helicopter crash in southwest Queensland.
Oxenford attended Coomera Primary School before going to Gatton College.
His climb to success started on the family farm which he also helped to expand and develop into one of the dairying showplaces of Queensland.
In the 1970s he started buying cattle stations from the ex-Vesty cattle empire in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Among his holdings were Stanbroke stations Rocklands and Tambar.
Oxenford, as well as pilot Justin Wallace, died when the helicopter in which they were in crashed on Eurella Station in southwest Queensland.
December 29, 2007
A Ferny Creek pilot who died in a helicopter crash was remembered as an integral part of his community and a dedicated family man.
Edward Geldard, 46, died when the helicopter he was flying plunged into the Yarra River about 7pm.
The businessman was the general manager of Upper Ferntree Gully consultancy the Sponsorship Unit and helicopter company Aussie Copters, and was also a long-time CFA volunteer.
One of his CFA colleagues, Yarra Ranges councillor Noel Cliff, said he had lost a great friend and the Ferny Creek community had farewelled a true leader.
“He was such a good bloke, a giver, the sort of bloke who would inspire other people to do things and get a move on,’’ Cr Cliff said.
September 15, 2008
Four people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Bungle Bungle ranges in Western Australia.
Police said the pilot and three female passengers died after the helicopter crashed about 1pm local time in the scenic Bungle Bungle National Park, near the Argyle diamond mine.
The incident set off a fire in the park but police said there was no danger to residents and visitors.
June 11, 2009
A pilot was hailed a hero for guiding his crippled helicopter away from crowds at Dreamworld before it crashed in a carpark, slightly injuring four passengers.
Emergency services personnel said the Bell Jet Ranger 206 helicopter containing Japanese pilot Mutsumi Sato and four Taiwanese tourists – three men and a woman – was returning to the theme park from a short joy flight when trouble struck.
Witnesses described their horror at seeing the helicopter rapidly lose altitude and head towards them.
Calling on more than 8500 hours of flying experience, veteran pilot Mr Matsumi somehow managed to steer the powerless helicopter to a deserted section of carpark for the crash landing.
In the process, he avoided hitting hundreds of visitors in the popular theme park and kept clear of famous attractions including, The Giant Drop, Tower of Terror, The Claw, Wipeout, Mick Doohan’s Motor Coaster and Tiger Island.
A group of Helensvale High School students on a class excursion to Dreamworld said they had just finished learning about safety procedures in the park when they heard the crash.
“It just sounded like something crashing and glass smashing,” Regan Webb said.
July 4, 2009
A trainee pilot and wealthy adventurer died in a helicopter crash at Gold Coast Airport.
Dr Franz Schmolleri, 72, was an Austrian-born ear, nose and throat specialist, had been living in Vanuatu on a yacht and was visiting Australia on a month-long holiday to obtain his helicopter pilot’s licence.
The helicopter Dr Schmolleri was flying had been hired from pilot training school Heli biz which had a hangar at the Gold Coast Airport.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau senior investigator Neville Blyth said it was believed Dr Schmolleri had been flying the Robinson 22 helicopter for almost half an hour before it crashed about 10.25am.
Witnesses who saw the accident from the Tugun bypass said Dr Schmolleri looked like he had barely taken off before the helicopter crashed into dense bushland on the western side of the airport precinct.
November 9, 2010
A man died after a helicopter crash on a private property in central Queensland.
A Department of Community Safety spokesman said the helicopter, with only the pilot on board, came down on a remote property about two hours off Mt Ogg Rd at Rolleston around 12.30pm.
“The chopper was believed to be mustering cattle when it came down,’’ he said.
Emergency services located the helicopter and found the man deceased. A police spokeswoman said it took many hours to retrieve the man’s body from the remote location.
July 23, 2011
The founder of a Sydney concrete mixer business and an experienced pilot died in a horrific helicopter crash in dense bushland close to houses.
The Bell 206 went down about 9.15am in bad weather at the edge of Lane Cove National Park, north of the city, startling nearby residents in South Turramurra who heard a loud explosion and saw smoke.
Businessman Bruce Campbell, a 65-year-old grandfather, and freelance Sydney pilot Colin Greenwood, 35, were killed in the crash, which left wreckage strewn for more than 100 metres.
Emergency workers described the site at the end of Canoon Rd, near a netball court, as one of the worst they had seen.
Mr Campbell, who is survived by three sons and five grandchildren, was the founder of Davcron Engineering Pty Ltd based at Granville in Sydney’s west.
Pilot Colin Greenwood was a freelancer who worked across Sydney, one of his recent casual employers said. Network Ten said he had experience flying in Papua New Guinea.
March 21, 2013
A helicopter crash south of Sydney killed four people.
The craft clipped a tree before plummeting into a grassed area at Bulli Tops around 12.10pm.
The helicopter crashed about 50m from a function centre in a clearing used for landing and takeoff by sightseeing helicopters.
Staff rushed out with fire extinguishers to help, but they said were beaten back by the flames and intense heat.
Part of a large tree branch remained near the wreckage and it appeared the chopper may have clipped a tree before it crashed.
June 5, 2013
Three ABC news veterans were killed in a helicopter crash in South Australia’s outback.
Reporter Paul Lockyer, Newcastle-raised pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean died in the chopper, which erupted in a fireball on their return from filming a third documentary of Lake Eyre filling with water.
November 8, 2017
A pilot killed in a Hobart helicopter crash was a “driving force” behind the establishment of Tasmania’s chopper rescue service.
Roger Paul Corbin, 57, died just before 5.30pm when his Rotorlift helicopter nosedived into the Hobart Airport tarmac from a height of about 200m.
Corbin, from suburban Otago Bay, was the managing director of Rotorlift, which operates the Tasmania Police rescue helicopter and also conducts tours and flight training.
March 21, 2018
Two people died in a helicopter crash off Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said five people were aboard the Eurocopter 120 which went down near Hardy Reef pontoon at about 4.30pm.
Police and other emergency service vessels were en route to Hardy Reef to the crash site about 65km northeast of the Whitsundays.
The helicopter is believed to have crashed into the water 250 metres from the Hardy Reef pontoon.
The helicopter was fully submerged after hitting the water.
March 20, 2019
A Mooloolaba pilot died in a helicopter crash in remote South Australia.
Kieran Brown, 45, was the only person on board when the crashed happened at 10.50am about 60km west of Woomera.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority confirmed Mr Brown was flying a Eurocopter AS350 – a large but light utility aircraft – to lay cables at the Carrapateena Mine.
ElectraNet, which contracted Mr Brown, said: “Our thoughts are with the pilot’s family and colleagues at this time.”
It is understood five of Mr Brown’s colleagues saw the crash.
July 2023
The search for four Australian servicemen broadened from the site where their Taipan helicopter crashed into the ocean during Exercise Talisman Sabre, as the identities of the men of the elite 6th Aviation regiment were revealed.
Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Captain Danniel Lyon, Corporal Alexander Naggs and Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock were flying on a training exercise as part of a series of international war games off the Queensland coast when their MRH-90 Taipan aircraft went down.
Chief of the Australian Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart confirmed the news outside Holsworthy Army Barracks and said all men were part of the “highly skilled” 6th Aviation regiment.
August 2024
A helicopter crashed into the roof of a popular Cairns hotel sparking a major fire and mass evacuation.
Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton on the corners of Esplanade, Abbott and Florence Street about 1.50am.
Police confirmed at 9am the pilot and single occupant of the aircraft was found dead at the scene, and forensic investigations are under way to formally identify him.
The company that owns the helicopter confirmed the flight was “unauthorised”.
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