1991 Sea World helicopter crash: More than 30 years since disaster on Gold Coast beach

It’s been nearly 32 years since the Gold Coast has witnessed a devastating chopper crash of the magnitude seen in January 2023.

It’s been nearly 32 years since the Gold Coast has witnessed a devastating chopper crash of the magnitude seen on Monday.

On March 3, 1991 a joy flight in a Gold Coast helicopter turned to disaster when the chopper suddenly plummeted from the sky and crashed into the beach on South Stradbroke Island, exploding into flames.

All seven people aboard were killed instantly during the incident, which was the worst helicopter crash in Australian history.

The people killed in the chopper crash were:

● Pilot Glenn Bryan Wells, 27, of Paradise Point

● Marlene Luton, 46, receptionist

● Her daughter Corrina Luton, 17, shop assistant

● Son Malcolm Luton, 23, graphic reproducer

● Daughter Donna Barnes, 22

● Son-in-law Kim Barnes, 23, cabinet maker

● Family friend Jean-Christophe Couvreux, 22, of France.

March 3, 1991 was a warm, clear day with good weather when Southport’s Lutton family arrived at Sea World for the flight aboard the Bell Long-ranger.

FILE photograph of Sea World helicopter crash on Stradbroke Island which killed seven people. March 3, 1991. Scan of original photograph by Calvan Flynn.

With them was Mr Couvreux, a friend of Malcolm Luton who had been just three weeks away from returning to France.

The joy flight had been booked to allow Mr Couvreux to take photographs of the Glitter Strip to take back to his family who he had not seen since leaving France three years earlier.

The flight took off without a hitch but the excitement was short lived.

Witnesses reported seeing the chopper flying erratically before plunging more than 650m into the beach.

Emergency services soon reached the flaming wreckage on the beach but found no survivors

The scene is often remembered by those who were there as one of the most disturbing incidents many veteran first responders had ever witnessed.

The crash was the lead item on all television news broadcasts and made headlines nationally.

Among those who watched, not realising their connection to the case, was Tony Luton,

A policeman carrying pieces of the chopper at the scene.

Marlene’s estranged husband and father of the Malcolm, Corrina and Donna.

Speaking to the Bulletin the night after the crash, he describe his devastation.

“I just can’t describe how I feel,” he said.

Mrs Luton’s neighbour Joan Love described the family as “very close-knit”.

“They were as close as you could get,” she said.

“That’s why her daughter and son-in-law lived in a caravan at the back of the house.

“She wanted everybody together.”

The Bureau of Air Safety conducted an in-depth investigation in the crash.

It found that Mr Wells, the experienced pilot, suffered from a heart condition, myocarditis, that could have caused loss of consciousness or sudden death.

He may not even have been aware of the condition.

It was also revealed that the pilot was grounded two months before the accident for having `below acceptable flying standard’ skills.

He was ordered to re-sit the flying test, which he passed.

Speculation that Mr Wells had been `showing off’ to his passengers by attempting a torque turn was rejected in the safety report, which stated there was no evidence of a such an incident.

The helicopter was found to have been airworthy and correctly loaded.

Investigators at first had concentrated on possible mechanical defects but it was ultimately determined Mr Wells had collapsed at the controls.

This had made the joystick flop over, inducing a steep climb which in turn precipitated a phenomenon known as “mast bumping’’.

This caused angling of the main rotor blades which led to the tail section being chopped off.

Eyewitnesses said they saw the tail rotor fall off just before the helicopter began its fall.

It was another 23 years before the Gold Coast next witnessed a fatal aviation disaster in the skies above South Stradbroke Island when a Tiger Moth suffered a fatal accident and plunged into the ocean killing two people.