A recently promoted ground crew member at a Far North Queensland tour company was allegedly the pilot of the stolen helicopter that crashed into a luxury hotel on Cairns Esplanade. / (min cost $ 0 ) or signup to continue reading The tour agency said Nautilus Aviation staff, including off-duty pilots, had drinks together on the night of the crash as a send-off for the unnamed person "who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases". Around 400 guests were evacuated after the helicopter, allegedly stolen from the Nautilus Aviation hanger, crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel roof at 1.
50am on August 12. The company said it had "now received confirmation from the Queensland Police Service as to the identification of the individual who gained unauthorised access to our helicopter hangar and misappropriated one of our helicopters". "Nautilus Aviation can now confirm this person was a current employee in a ground crew position, joining approximately four months ago," the August 13 statement said.
The tour company said the person held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot's licence but had "never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters". "We will be leaving the release of the individual's details to [Queensland Police Service]." The company said the drinks were "not a work event and was coordinated by friends".
"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual's family and all who have b.