Sea World helicopter crash: Investigators could take 18 months to find cause of collision
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Air crash investigators could take 18 months or more to deliver their findings on a helicopter collision that killed four people on the Gold Coast.
The Australian Transport Security Office updated its website on Friday to indicate that the expected date to complete its investigation was between July and September 2024.
A final report will be published when the investigation is complete. If a critical security issue is identified during the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify the relevant parties, so that appropriate security measures can be taken,” the website said.
Mother Vanessa Tadros, pilot Ash Jenkinson and British newlyweds Diane and Ron Hughes were killed when one helicopter struck another and crashed to the ground on Monday.
Investigators could take up to 18 months to determine the cause of the helicopter collision that left four dead and five injured after the collision of two helicopters
British couple Ron, 65, and Diane Hughes, 57, sadly died in the helicopter crash on Monday.
Australia’s 2019 National Audit Office report on the office’s investigative efficiency found that it took an average of 19 months to produce a report on ‘complex’ incidents.
ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said earlier that transport safety investigators with experience in helicopter operations, maintenance and survival engineering had been dispatched to the crash site from the bureau’s offices in Brisbane and Canberra.
On Friday, the mother of a boy who was seriously injured in the crash thanked online cash donors for their “incredible” generosity.
Winnie De Silva, 33, from Geelong, and her nine-year-old son Leon, were rushed to hospital after the horrific accident.
Four people were killed in the first helicopter and another child was seriously injured, while four passengers and the pilot of the second helicopter were injured by splinters of glass when the windshield shattered.
A Queensland Health spokesman said 10-year-old Nicholas Tadros, from Sydney, was in an ‘unchanged’ condition from Thursday when he was listed in critical condition and in an induced coma.
His mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, died at the scene on Monday.
An online fundraiser for the De Silva family, organized by Winnie’s husband Neil, has raised nearly $60,000 as of Friday.
Sea World Helicopter Chief Pilot Ash ‘Jenko’ Jenkinson, 40, also died in the helicopter crash (pictured with his wife, Kosha)
Sydney’s mother, Vanessa Tadros, 36, died while her 10-year-old son Nicholas survived the helicopter crash on Monday.
Survivors of Sea World helicopter crash Winnie de Silva (mother) and Leon de Silva (son) remain in hospital recovering from their injuries
Ms De Silva, who is in stable condition at Gold Coast University Hospital, released a statement on Friday about Leon’s recovery at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where he is in stable condition.
‘We are very grateful for the generous contributions to the Go Fund Me page. The generosity of the people has been incredible and I cannot thank you enough,” said Ms De Silva.
“More importantly, I continue to pray for the recovery of young Nicholas, who was sitting near me in the helicopter, and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the other passengers. This is an unthinkable and difficult time for all of us.’
More than 1,300 donors contributed to De Silva’s fundraiser, with dozens of people pledging amounts between $200 and $700 in the space of three days.
A separate fundraiser for Nicholas received more than $48,500 over two days and one of the largest individual donors chose to remain anonymous.