The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen aircraft into a waterfront hotel was affected by alcohol, an investigation has found.
New Zealander Blake Wilson, 23, was piloting a Robinson 44 helicopter when it crashed upside down into the roof the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at 1.50am on August 12.
The ‘unauthorised and unnecessary’, four-minute journey took off from the Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am, completing several circuits across the mudflats and over the city’s Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone.
Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying dangerously low before it smashed into the hotel roof and burst into flames.
Remarkably, no one but the pilot was killed.
A report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, published on Thursday morning found that Wilson was a ‘by a significant amount of alcohol before and during the flight’.
‘The pilot further increased risk to themselves and those on the ground by conducting the unauthorised flight well below the 1,000 ft allowed for flight over a built-up area,’ the report concluded.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed that Wilson had a boozy farewell dinner with colleagues at Nautilus Aviation because he was due to begin a role as a refueller on Horn Island.
‘Prior to the accident, on the evening of 11 August, the pilot had been socialising with friends at various venues in Cairns,’ the ATSB report stated.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed New Zealander Blake Wilson (pictured), 23, was piloting a Robinson 44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at 1.50am on August 12
The ‘unauthorised’, four-minute journey took off from the Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am, completing several circuits across the mudflats and over the city’s Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone (pictured: the flight path)
‘Witnesses reported and video recordings showed that the pilot had been consuming alcohol and that they returned to their apartment around 2300.’
CCTV footage later recorded Wilson driving away from his apartment shortly after 1am in a company car.
Twenty minutes later he arrived at the Nautilus Aviation hangar at Cairns airport where he used ground wheels to move a Robinson-44 helicopter onto the helipad.
Before he took off he disabled the strobe lights within the cockpit, with the rport finding he did this to ‘conceal the departure from the airport from air traffic control and airport staff’.
He then flew towards Cairns city centre, adjusting his path slightly to fly over his shared apartment.
He then performed a lap of the Cairns wharf complex before doubling back over his apartment again.
The flight altitude never exceeded 500ft.
The report revealed that the helicopter had been ‘inverted’ -upside down – at the moment of impact (pictured)
Remarkably, none of the hotel guests were injured (pictured: the damage to one of the rooms on the top floor)
‘Two security cameras recorded very brief portions of the final part of the flight,’ the ATSB report stated.
‘These show the helicopter pitching up, then almost immediately descending steeply before colliding into the roof of the hotel at about 1.51am.’
The report revealed that the helicopter had been ‘inverted’ -upside down – at the moment of impact.
‘Most of the helicopter, including its skids, came to rest on the hotel roof and was destroyed by impact forces and a fuel-fed post-impact fire,’ it found.
It also revealed that Wilson’s last recorded flight before his fatal journey was in February 2024 in his native New Zealand.
Wilson had moved to Cairns from his native New Zealand in March, where he soon took up a role as part of Nautilus Aviation’s ground crew
The helicopter crashed upside down into the roof of the hotel before being engulfed in flames
He had been working as part of the ground crew staff at Nautilus during his time in Australia.
‘The pilot had accumulated 157.8 hours total aeronautical experience, 16.8 hours of which were flown in Robinson R44 helicopters, and 10.35 of which were flown at night in Cabri G2 helicopters,’ the report stated.
he was able to gain access to the hangar because he was an employee and it was common practice for staff to leave keys in the helicopters.
There was no cockpit voice recorder to record his final words.
Despite finding that it was an ‘unathorised but purposeful act’, the ATSB did not make a ruling on why Wilson had embarked on the fatal flight.
Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell told the ABC the toxicology report showed ‘high levels of blood alcohol concentration’.
‘This certainly was an exceptional set of circumstances, and not normally one that the ATSB investigates,’ he said.
‘While it’s tragic that a young man has lost his life, there was significant risk to others in the Cairns area.’
Wilson’s employer, Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn, previously said that he was shocked by the incident, adding that Wilson had only recently been awarded employee of the month.
‘He was a great employee, we had no concerns about his wellbeing or his mental state,’ Mr Finn said.