Aviator involved in helicopter collision with a hotel was discovered to have consumed an substantial quantity of alcohol, according to the investigation's findings.
Hundreds of hotel guests and workers had to evacuate from the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Cairns, located in Far North Queensland, on August 12, after an aircraft struck the upper floor and ignited into flames.
Back then, Nautilus Aviation disclosed that the pilot was one of their ground crew members who had celebrated his promotion at a party the evening prior to the crash.
He didn’t have the necessary authorization to pilot the aircraft, but he had access to the helicopter, with its keys usually left within the aircraft when it was placed in the hangar.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released a report on August 13, stating that the pilot was under the influence of a substantial amount of alcohol and flew at heights significantly lower than the 1,000 ft (304 meters) permitted for flights over built-up areas.
The report didn’t provide a reason for the pilot's actions or if he intentionally crashed the helicopter into the hotel.
"For reasons unknown, the pilot's actions led to a collision with a building during an unauthorized and unnecessary flight, while intoxicated, late at night, and at low altitude above a built-up area, without the necessary endorsements for night flying," the report concluded.
Witnesses and security camera footage revealed that the pilot had spent time with friends at various Cairns venues, consuming alcohol.
The cameras also captured the pilot maneuvering one of Nautilus Aviation’s Robinson R44 Raven II helicopters onto a helipad at Cairns Airport around 1:30 a.m. local time.
For several minutes, the pilot turned off the helicopter’s cockpit and strobe lights, then took off heading towards Cairns city center, according to the report.
On duty that night were Australian Federal Police and airport safety officers, but they were not near the hangar. The report explained that they would not have noticed a helicopter operating at night without lights.
"It was evident that the pilot aimed to conceal his departure from the airport from air traffic control and airport staff," the report stated.
No cockpit recorder or flight data recorder was found. However, investigators analyzed the aircraft's movements using its GPS tracker and ground radar data.
The report stated the pilot was not authorized to fly that aircraft and, while he had prior experience with the Robinson R44, he hadn’t done so at night.
Upon impact, the helicopter was not upright, but there was also no mechanical issue detected.
Due to the pilot's actions, the helicopter collided with the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Australia's Cairns, causing a significant incident. Despite the pilot's promotion celebration and alcohol consumption, he flew from Cairns Airport to the city center in the early hours, without authorization or necessary endorsements.
