Cairns helicoper crash pilot Blake Wilson ‘affected by alcohol’, ATSB investigation finds
A 23-year-old Cairns man who crashed a Nautilus Aviation helicopter into a city hotel was affected by alcohol during the fatal flight after a night out with mates, an investigation has found.
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A 23-year-old Cairns man who crashed a Nautilus Aviation helicopter into a city hotel was affected by alcohol after drinking on a night out with mates before the fatal flight, an investigation has found.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has finalised an investigation into the crash involving the Robinson R44 helicopter, which ploughed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns in the early hours on August 12.
Nautilus employee Blake Wilson died in the fiery crash after taking the helicopter from his employee’s hangar in the general aviation section of the Cairns Airport without permission.
“The investigation found that the pilot conducted an unauthorised and unnecessary flight at night, while affected by alcohol,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
“The pilot did not hold the appropriate endorsements to fly at night, did not have any experience flying the R44 at night, and they conducted the flight well below the 1000ft minimum height for flight over built up areas.”
Mr Wilson had gained access to the Nautilus hangar after entering a code into a security door keypad.
He held valid New Zealand and Australian commercial helicopter pilot licences and had previously flown R44 helicopters.
But he was employed by Nautilus as a ground handler, and was not approved to fly the operator’s helicopters.
“Using a combination of CCTV footage, witness accounts, GPS data from the helicopter and air traffic control surveillance radar data, the ATSB was able to develop a detailed sequence of events of the accident flight,” Mr Mitchell said.
Prior to the flight, Mr Wilson had been socialising with friends at various venues in Cairns, where he had been drinking alcohol, according to the report.
He returned to his apartment about 11pm, with CCTV footage showing him driving away from the unit complex at 1.09am.
CCTV footage from the hangar then shows Mr Wilson moving the helicopter outside onto a helipad just after 1.30am.
“We know from GPS and air traffic control radar data that the helicopter departed Cairns Airport shortly before 1.47am, while CCTV footage showed that the helicopter’s strobe lights were turned off by the pilot,” Mr Mitchell said.
After taking off, the helicopter headed south towards the Cairns city centre, flying over Mr Wilson’s apartment building and then tracking to the northern end of the Cairns wharf complex, where it completed an orbit before heading north towards the marina and continuing along the coastline.
After crossing the coastline and flying over Mr Wilson’s apartment a second time, the helicopter circled back towards the foreshore, following it for about 1km.
Throughout the flight the helicopter’s altitude did not exceed 500ft.
“Two security cameras recorded very brief portions of the final part of the flight and showed the helicopter pitching up, then almost immediately descending steeply before colliding into the roof of the hotel at about 1.51am,” Mr Mitchell said.
“Wreckage distribution and impact marks indicate that the helicopter was inverted at impact.”
Most of the helicopter came to rest on the hotel roof and was destroyed by impact forces and a fuel-fed post-impact fire.
Parts of the main rotor blade were found in the hotel rooms below the accident site, while the helicopter’s instrument panel, main rotor head and most of the main rotor blades were found within the hotel grounds.
A portion of the same main rotor blade that struck the hotel windows was found in parkland across the road.
Fortunately there were no injuries to hotel guests or staff.
Investigators determined from the available evidence, there were no airworthiness factors affecting the helicopter or which contributed to the accident.
“The flight was a purposeful act, but there was no evidence available to explain the pilot’s intentions,” Mr Mitchell said.
The investigation was closed after the ATSB determined it unlikely that broader safety issues or lessons would be uncovered.
“The ATSB primarily investigates to identify industry systemic safety issues, and to then influence the adoption of targeted actions to reduce future risk,” said Mr Mitchell.
“Our final report published today provides assurance to the Cairns community and the aviation industry that after gathering and analysing the available evidence, there are unlikely to be broader transport safety issues that require addressing to reduce future risk arising from this tragic accident.”
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