Sea World chopper crash investigators spotted combing through clues
Investigators looking into the catastrophic chopper crash over the Broadwater have been spotted on the Gold Coast a month after the disaster. Find out the latest.
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Investigators are still combing through clues into what caused the tragic helicopter crash near Sea World a month after the disaster which killed four people.
The shocking helicopter collision over the Broadwater occurred when two choppers crashed when one was taking off and the other landing about 2pm on January 2.
The crash killed Sea World Helicopters pilot Ashley Jenkinson, British tourists Diane Hughes, 57, and Ron Hughes, 65 and Sydney woman Vanessa Tadros, 36.
The pilot of the second chopper Michael James was taken to hospital, as were passengers including Geelong mum Winnie de Silva and her son nine-year-old son Leon.
Ten-year-old Nicholas Tadros, the son of Ms Tadros, is still recovering from his injuries in hospital.
Just days before the one-month anniversary of the tragedy investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were spotted still looking for clues.
Officers were seen working in the Sea World Helicopters hanger near a helicopter with a number of boxes, backpacks and lights in the area.
An ATSB spokesman declined to comment while the investigation was taking place.
The day after the crash ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell told reporters: “We have a reasonable understanding of what the helicopters were doing in those critical stages of flight (take off and landing).
“But exactly why this occurred, what the range of visibility for both the pilots was, what was happening inside the cabins at the time – they are the things that will help us piece together potentially what might have been a contributing factor here.”
It is understood investigators also have a massive amount of footage to comb through which includes CCTV from nearby buildings, footage from inside the choppers and mobile phone footage.
Investigators were also looking at electronic devices like mobile phones and recorders that were inside the helicopters.
ATSB have flagged it will take between six and eight weeks to release their interim report.
That means the earliest the report is expected is on February 20.
Queensland Police also investigated at the time.
A QPS spokeswoman said on Wednesday: “It would be inappropriate to comment as the matter is currently the subject of Coronial investigation.”
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