Cairns hotel helicopter crash: Major twist after pilot killed

A helicopter pilot has died after his plane crashed into a luxury hotel in Cairns, injuring two guests and forcing hundreds of others to flee the burning building.

Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in the Far North Queensland city at 1.50am on Monday.

Queensland Ambulance confirmed a helicopter “crashed onto the roof of a hotel”, with 300 to 400 people being evacuated from the hotel.

The pilot, a man in his 40s, was killed, while two people staying in one of the rooms were rushed to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

The helicopter is believed to have been part of the fleet of Nautilus Aviation, one of Australia’s largest helicopter operators.

Sources report that the helicopter may have been ‘stolen’ as none of the accredited Nautilus Aviation pilots were flying the aircraft.

“All pilots have been found,” the source told Daily Mail Australia.

Nautilus Aviation told the Courier Mail it was an “unauthorised” flight.

Veronica, who witnessed the crash, told 2GB they saw the plane hit the building ‘at full force’.

“The next thing I knew I saw it flying towards the hotel and a big explosion… it hit the building,” she said.

Terrifying footage captured by a tourist showed the roof set alight by huge red and orange flames.

Huge plumes of black smoke rose from the roof of the hotel as the fire raged.

“The whole building is on fire,” a woman was heard saying as flames were seen on the ground floor of the hotel.

“Did you see it? The helicopter… it’s just crazy. I was just walking by… I saw it go down,” she continued.

Bystanders stood in a nearby park and watched as flames tore through the hotel.

An 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition after being assessed by paramedics.

Queensland Police announced a Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) and an exclusion zone was established encompassing Esplanade, Minnie Street, Aplin Street and Grafton Street.

Caitlin Dennings, operations supervisor with Queensland Ambulance Service’s Far Northern Region, said residents heard a bang that sounded like a bomb.

“Unfortunately it’s quite frightening to hear. I think it’s the sound of a helicopter crashing before 2am,” she said.

‘There are reports that it sounded like a bomb and that there was fire and smoke coming from it. Many hotel residents were very uncertain about the situation at that time.

‘There is a lot of unrest here in the evacuation center, which is actually a hotel.’

Hotel guest Alastair Salmon told ABC the noise of the crash was deafening, while his roommate Harry Holberton said there was debris in the area.

“There was debris all over the hotel, pieces of a windshield,” he said.

Ms Dennings added that emergency workers had to wait until firefighters had assessed the building before they could enter the hotel and view the helicopter.

“The helicopter crashed into the roof of the hotel but two propellers from the helicopter that landed on the Cairns Esplanade became detached,” she said.

‘There was a second propeller in the hotel swimming pool on the ground floor.

At the time of the incident [hotel guests] were evacuated to Florence Street, where they were picked up by buses and taken to a hotel in Cairns City. There they were all evacuated to the lobby.’

Police are on the scene and have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has also launched an investigation.