Gold Coast helicopter collision: Kiwi witness reveals close call in horror crash

The two helicopters involved in a collision off the Gold Coast on Monday, January 2. Four people were killed and three critically injured when the helicopter on the left crashed. Photo / AP

A Christchurch woman who witnessed a helicopter collision while on holiday on the Gold Coast has described the horrifying moment one of the aircraft broke apart and fell from the sky.

Four Kiwis in one of the helicopters made a miracle escape from the collision on Monday afternoon.

Their helicopter managed to land safely on a sandbank but the other crashed with the death of the pilot and three passengers, including two newlyweds and a young mum whose son is fighting for his life in hospital.

Both aircraft were from Sea World Helicopters, a charter flight operator based beside the theme park.

Two crashed helicopters sit on a sand bank near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast. Four people in the helicopter on the left were killed, with three others in a critical condition. The occupants in the helicopter on the right survived. Photo / AP

The New Zealanders walked away from the mid-air collision with just a few cuts and scratches, the Herald has been told.

Susan Monaco’s shock at watching the crash unfold was heightened by the fact her son had enjoyed a chartered flight aboard Sea World Helicopters the day before, taking off from the same spot at the Southport landing pad.

Footage shows one helicopter take off from the pad, before banking slightly right into the flight path of another helicopter coming in from the north. Its rotors struck the other aircraft and it broke apart in mid-air.

Emergency workers inspect a helicopter at a scene collision near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast, Australia. Four people were killed, three critically injured in the crash. Photo / AP

Monaco was sitting on a beach having lunch with her husband when she saw the two helicopters collide.

She was rendered speechless.

“I was trying to tell my husband … and I couldn’t get it out. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said.

She saw the tail of one of the helicopters break off before it crashed into a sandbar, sending a plume of dust into the air.

“We saw the other helicopter above it, or beside it. And then all I saw was the tail snapping, it looked like it kind of snapped off.”

The tail, then the cabin, crashed to the sandbar below.

One of two helicopters that crashed off SeaWorld on the Gold Coast Australia seconds before impact. Photo / 9 NEWS

After the crash the other helicopter flew over and landed on the sandbar.

Aside from smoke and dust she could not see much in the aftermath, and did not see any flames.

“I thought ‘was I just seeing things?’ Then 10 minutes later all the ambulance and police cars started coming.

“I freaked out. I was really beside myself.”

Monaco spoke to the Herald from her hotel room overlooking the crash site and said people on the Gold Coast remained in shock after the crash.

“I didn’t go out after that happened. We just came back and stayed here. Cried and everything.”

The passengers killed in the helicopter that crashed after take-off were Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, and British newlyweds Ron, 65, and Diane Hughes, 57, Australian media reported on Wednesday.

Also killed was their pilot, Ash “Jenko” Jenkinson, 40. Tadros’ son, 10, is in a critical condition in hospital.

Two people also travelling on that helicopter, a 33-year-old woman and a 9-year-old boy both from Geelong West, Victoria, were taken to hospital with serious injuries, Queensland police said.

The two helicopters seconds before impact. Photo / 9 NEWS

Those aboard the other helicopter which managed to land on the sandbank were a 52-year-old pilot from Queensland and five passengers: a 27-year-old woman from Western Australia and two families from New Zealand who were travelling together, comprising a 44-year-old man and 43-year-old woman from one family, and a 48-year-old man and 45-year-old woman from the other, Queensland police said.

Five passengers suffered minor injuries while one was uninjured.

After the crash, the New Zealanders were transported to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment for minor injuries, Queensland police said.

A Gold Coast Health spokeswoman said they were seen and treated in the emergency department for cuts and scratches and were not admitted to hospital.

Chief pilot of SeaWorld helicopters, Ash "Jenko" Jenkinson, 40, died in a helicopter crash over the Gold Coast Broadwater near SeaWorld on Monday afternoon. Photo / Ash Jenkinson, Facebook

The helicopter company released a statement expressing its condolences and promising co-operation with authorities.

“Sea World Helicopters has expressed its shock and deepest sympathy for those involved in the Sea World helicopter accident on the Gold Coast,” a spokesman said.

“We and the entire flying community are devastated by what has happened and our sincere condolences go to all those involved, and especially the loved ones and family of the deceased.

“We are co-operating with all the authorities, including the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Queensland Police. As it is now a police investigation we cannot provide any further information at this stage.”

Queensland Police said they are preparing a report for the coroner while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is leading an investigation into the collision.