Sea World helicopter crash video

Chilling footage has revealed the instant two helicopters collided with each other over a packed Gold Coast theme park in a freak accident that left four dead.

The moment of impact shows a Sea World helicopter moving at high speed and hitting a shorter one just seconds after it took off.

Accident investigators believe the rotor blades of the climbing helicopter smashed into the windows of the helicopter’s cabin above.

The impact tore off the rotor unit and engine of the ascending helicopter and sent the aircraft plummeting upside down onto the sandbar below.

The four killed in the crash, aged 37, 40, 57 and 65, including a holidaying British husband and wife and a woman from New South Wales, were at the bottom of the two helicopters.

The second helicopter with cabin damage managed to land near the sandbank and its pilot and five passengers suffered minor injuries.

Passers-by next to the helipad were filming the takeoff and landing with their phones when the incident occurred.

A watching child says ‘Is it going to crash?’ just a few seconds before impact.

Others can be heard saying ‘no’ as the tragedy unfolds.

A visitor to Sea World told 7 News that he had seen one of the planes “in a nosedive with the cockpit windows falling out after impact.”

A man inside Sea World at the time of the apparent accident with his young son described hearing “a massive explosion.”

“I was walking my son and some Sea World staff were running outside. I didn’t really know what had happened, but there was a huge explosion,” John told 3AW.

Now they have closed off that side of the park so people can’t look into the water. Pretty scary stuff.

Another witness posted on social media: “We heard a loud noise and saw pieces of debris flying.”

Queensland Police Duty Officer Gary Worrell revealed shocking details of the crash scene as rescuers rushed to the scene shortly after 2pm on Monday.

“It was very, very obvious, very, very confrontational,” he said Tuesday.

“Right at the beginning, when the incident happened, we had private boats bringing people to the island to offer support to the victims.

They did the best they could with CPR until emergency services arrived.

“Unfortunately, we had those four deceased, but three were significantly worked on at the scene until they were transported by the air ambulance.”

Investigators with the Office of Air Transport Safety said they will study video of the tragic collision as part of their investigation.

“We have multiple witness accounts and video,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said Tuesday.

“But still, we’ll get what we can from those two helicopters to try to get a better picture of what was going on.”

He said it was a miracle that more people didn’t die in the terror clash.

“We are still determining the exact sequence of events,” he said.

“But from the images we have seen and the damage, it appears that the main rotor blade of the helicopter that took off collided with the forward cabin of the helicopter that was descending on the left side.

‘Whether that was the first point of impact, we haven’t determined yet.

“But that has led to the main rotor and gearbox separating from that helicopter, which has meant that, tragically, it has had no lift and has come down heavily to the ground.”

He added: ‘We know that the helicopter that took off had been airborne for less than 20 seconds on its climb.

“The forces involved in the crash, not only in the actual collision which are substantial, but also obviously in the uncontrolled crash, which is essentially what it was once it lost its main rotor, are considerable.

“The second helicopter landed on the sandbar and that has obviously led to the stage where we’re not seeing any more deaths here.”

He said the investigation will now look into the period leading up to the accident and the protocols in place at SeaWorld.

“What we’re going to look at now is what were the processes and procedures that were in place outside of SeaWorld,” he said. Were they followed? Were they enough?

What we are interested in knowing is what those two helicopters were doing at that moment.

‘What were the processes that were put in place to protect the helicopters, particularly in those phases of flight?’

Acting Inspector Worrell confirmed that the four dead were the pilot, the two Britons and another passenger, and three other people remained in critical condition at hospital, including one related to the husband and wife who died in the crash.

The seriously injured include a 9-year-old boy and his 33-year-old mother, and a 10-year-old boy whose 37-year-old mother died in the crash.

The pilot who lost his life after the collision between the two Sea World tour helicopters has been identified as Chief Pilot Ashley Jenkinson, a respected figure in the aviation industry.

The three passengers who survived the initial crash of their plane, a woman and two young children, were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in critical condition.

Those who knew the 40-year-old Jenkinson have paid tribute to his ‘heroic’ actions during last year’s floods, when he delivered packages to people who had been stranded, calling him a ‘true legend’.

LATEST NEWS on the deadly helicopter collision on the Gold Coast. A word of caution for some viewers who may find the viewing harrowing. This is the moment of impact outside of Sea World, where the two helicopters collided. At least four people have died. #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/iCGE6F0Lsa

— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 2, 2023

“This amazing chief pilot has flown many flights to and from people in need, including some very remote areas,” her friend Billie Frank wrote on Facebook.

‘Flying is not an easy task. Focus and being on point is constant, but as usual, Ash ripped it off in the park to help the flood victims.’

I can not believe it. You truly were a beautiful soul and would light up any room you walked into. You will be sorely missed,” said Kate Freeman.

‘Devastating news. You were a legend Ash. You helped so many people and you’ve done a lot of good in your life,” said Rachelle O’Brien.

“My thoughts are with you and everyone involved, Ash,” said Daniel Round.

You were a true legend, we will miss you. Fly high, they took you too soon. It was a pleasure learning to fly under you Ash, you were a great mentor and a true gentleman. Fly high, blue skies and tailwinds, rest easy mate.

There were dozens more tributes in the same vein as the previous ones.

Jenkinson leaves behind a young son, whose first birthday she celebrated in September.

The pilot’s employer issued a statement expressing condolences for all the victims of the incident.

“Sea World Helicopters has expressed its shock and condolences to those involved in the Sea World helicopter accident on the Gold Coast,” a spokesperson said.

“We and the entire flight community are devastated by what happened and our deepest condolences go out to everyone involved, and especially to the loved ones and family of the deceased.

We are cooperating with all authorities, including the Australian Transport Security Office and the Queensland Police. As it is now a police investigation, we are unable to provide any further information at this time.

A Queensland Ambulance Service representative, Jayney Shearman, told reporters that the service had deployed “all available resources” to deal with the incident, including intensive care paramedics and two medical helicopters.

“In the initial stages, 13 people were identified in those two helicopters, there were three critical patients who were treated and six minor injuries,” he confirmed.

Those lighter injuries were mainly caused by glass shrapnel.

“This is very traumatic, and certainly our thoughts and condolences are with the families of everyone involved,” he said.

“The access to the sandbank was very well coordinated, there was a lot of help from our allied services. So they were able to transport our officers across the river.

SeaWorld Drive was closed to traffic after the accident and the public was urged to avoid the area.