Remember the helicopter pilot Blake Wilson who crashed a stolen aircraft into a hotel? Well, investigators have determined that alcohol was involved – and the story we originally heard about the crash wasn’t quite right.
Don’t know the story already? Get strapped in for a wild ride.
Here’s what we know now.
At a glance:
- Blake Wilson, a 23-year-old New Zealander, crashed a stolen helicopter into a Cairns hotel after consuming significant amounts of alcohol.
- The unauthorized flight occurred at night, flying low over a no-fly zone before crashing into the hotel’s roof and bursting into flames.
- Investigators found Wilson had been drinking prior to the crash, and despite the crash’s impact, no hotel guests were injured.
Blake Wilson, a 23-year-old pilot from New Zealand, tragically lost his life in August after crashing a stolen helicopter into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns, Australia. A report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) revealed that Wilson had consumed significant amounts of alcohol before embarking on the unauthorized and fatal flight.
The crash occurred in the early hours of August 12, when Wilson took off from the Nautilus Aviation hangar at Cairns Airport at around 1:45 a.m. His four-minute flight saw him flying dangerously low, well below the 1,000-foot limit for built-up areas, completing several circuits across restricted airspace above Cairns’ Esplanade. Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying erratically before it crashed upside down into the hotel roof and burst into flames.
https://x.com/10NewsFirstQLD/status/1844187378963169763
Remarkably, no hotel guests were injured in the crash, though the helicopter and part of the hotel’s top floor were destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire.
The ATSB report revealed that Wilson had attended a farewell dinner with colleagues on the evening of August 11, drinking heavily before returning to his apartment at around 11:00 p.m. However, CCTV footage later captured him leaving his apartment in a company car around 1 a.m., driving to the hangar where he used ground wheels to move a Robinson 44 helicopter onto the helipad. Before taking off, Wilson disabled the helicopter’s strobe lights to avoid detection by air traffic control.
The investigation found that Wilson had not flown since February 2024 and had only 157.8 total flying hours, with limited night flying experience. Despite this, he embarked on the unauthorized flight, performing low-altitude circuits around his apartment and the Cairns wharf complex before crashing into the hotel. The helicopter was inverted at the time of impact, and investigators concluded that it was a “purposeful act,” although the precise reason behind the flight remains unclear.
Toxicology reports showed Wilson had high levels of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell expressed concern over the “significant risk to others” that Wilson’s actions posed, highlighting the potential danger to the Cairns community.
Wilson’s employer, Nautilus Aviation, expressed shock at the incident. CEO Aaron Finn described Wilson as a dedicated employee who had recently been named employee of the month, adding that there had been no prior concerns about his mental state or wellbeing.