Report due for post-farewell party fatal chopper crash in Cairns

Kiwi helicopter pilot Blake Wilson has been named as the man who died when he crashed a stolen helicopter into a Cairns hotel.

• An investigation into a fatal helicopter crash in Cairns’ CBD is set to conclude soon.
• Pilot Blake Wilson, 23, died after the helicopter crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.
• Nautilus Aviation claimed Wilson gained unauthorised access to the helicopter after his farewell party.

Questions raised by a post-farewell party fatal helicopter crash on a hotel roof in a popular tourist spot could soon be answered.

An investigation was launched after a helicopter’s “unauthorised” flight from a far north Queensland airport hangar in the early hours of the morning ended in a fiery explosion in Cairns’ no-fly zone CBD in August.

The pilot – identified by police as 23-year-old Blake Wilson – died when the helicopter struck the roof of DoubleTree by Hilton about 2am, prompting the evacuation of about 400 guests.

Wilson was the helicopter’s sole occupant.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will on Thursday hand down its final report, barely two months after the crash that also resulted in an elderly couple being taken to hospital.

The pilot’s employer, Nautilus Aviation, claimed he gained unauthorised access to a helicopter in its hangar after his farewell party, which was not co-ordinated by the charter company.

It said he had a New Zealand pilot’s licence but had never flown in Australia and was not authorised to use a Nautilus Aviation helicopter.

The charter company said the man who flew the chopper had been an employee for four months in a ground crew position.

The helicopter was seen flying in the Cairns CBD before it crashed into the hotel roof, smashing the windows of nearby rooms with one occupied by a sleeping elderly couple.

New Zealander Blake Wilson, a trained helicopter pilot who died after crashing a helicopter into a Cairns hotel. Photo / Facebook

Two guests – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and were later released.

Propellers were dislodged when the helicopter hit the roof with one landing on the street outside and the other in the hotel pool while still on fire.

Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell told reporters at the time it was “miraculous” no one else was hurt.

The bureau’s investigation was expected to involve the Department of Home Affairs, which oversees airport security.

“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties, so that appropriate safety action can be taken,” the bureau said on its website.