More is being revealed about the man who died after crashing a helicopter onto the roof of a hotel in Cairns, Australia, on Monday. The New Zealand man, who worked for Nautilus Aviation for four months but was not authorized to fly their helicopters, was piloting the aircraft during the unauthorized flight. Nautilus confirmed he held a helicopter pilot's license in New Zealand but had never flown in Australia. His name is still being withheld.
Approximately 400 guests were evacuated from the DoubleTree Hilton after the helicopter ignited. Two hotel guests received brief hospital treatment for smoke inhalation, though no other injuries were reported. Queensland Police stated there was no ongoing threat to public safety, treating the event as an isolated incident.
Authorities are probing how the man managed to lift off from Cairns Airport. Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker said an assessment revealed "no compromise of our airport fence or access points." The crashed helicopter was described as "misappropriated" by Nautilus, which highlighted that the man had just been promoted to a new ground crew role at another base. Before the crash, he had attended a social event in honor of his move to the new post. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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