Firefighting helicopter pilot Grant Schulz details escape from dam crash

A firefighting Queensland pilot whose helicopter ditched into a dam and sank has described the moment he knew he had reached his last chance to survive, telling how he managed to escape when all hope looked lost.

The QFES contracted pilot who made a miracle escape after his helicopter ditched into a dam has detailed his incredible story of survival.

Grant Schultz, who works for a company that contracts pilots for QFES, said he feels “incredibly lucky” to be alive following his near-death experience.

“I was at home at our helicopter base and got tasked by QFES to a fire in Tregony,” Mr Schultz said.

“I became airborne and travelled out near the fire, when I went into the first dam to get a bucket of water unfortunately there was some kind of an ‘uncommanded’ aircraft movement and resulted in the helicopter rolling into the water.

Pilot Grant Schulz says he knows he is lucky to be alive. Picture: David Clark

“I rolled upside down pretty quickly, I undid my seat beat and fell to the bottom which was the roof of the helicopter.

“I removed my helmet and tried to remove the driver’s door and couldn’t get it open, I then went to swim in the back and I took one breath and I think at that time there was only four inches of air left in the top.

“I then tried to kick open the back door because the handle wouldn’t open, I swam back around to the front door at that point and I couldn’t get that door open either or kick it open.

“I had one door left, swam round the back yanked on the handle a few times and it twisted and grabbed the door and pulled on it til I could get it open enough and slid out.”

Grant Schulz escaped with scratches to his fingers and above his eye. Picture: David Clark

Mr Schultz escaped with only minor scratches, a few on his fingers from when he was trying to break the door and one above his eyebrow from when he hit his head on the seat after the chopper ditched.

“I’m not a very good swimmer and I’m not very good at holding my breath so initially the adrenaline and I guess that point when I had one door left I started to have a little bit of realisation that it was my last chance,” he said.

The pilot attributes his survival to his QFES training, which he only had just redone this month.

Video still of a fire fighting helicopter crash at Tarome.

“Unfortunately we have had quite a few friends and pilots that you read about and hope it’s not you,” he said.

“I got to the last door and I got to the point where I had that moment of thinking, ‘this is it, if that door doesn’t open, I just thought, well, what do I do.

“The training, you commit to motor memory, the training it … saved my life.”

In a year full of helicopter tragedies, Mr Schultz said he felt fortunate “to be sticking around for a while”.

“They wanted me to fly back in a chopper after discharging from hospital and I was a bit hesitant about that … but I’ll be helping fight this summers fires again for certain.”

The helicopter moments before the crash. Picture: 7 News