A pilot who died after crashing a stolen helicopter into an Australian hotel had attended a party with staff the night before, his employer said.
The helicopter belonged to Queensland helicopter tour operator Nautilus Aviation, which said the employee was attending a private farewell party with colleagues hours before the crash.
Nautilus added the man had a license to fly a helicopter in New Zealand but had never flown in Australia.
The pilot died in the crash and two hotel guests were taken to hospital in stable condition.
Nautilus said in a statement to the BBC that the person had recently been promoted to a “ground crew position” at another of the company’s bases.
On Sunday night, he attended a private farewell event with his colleagues, which was also attended by off-duty airmen. Nautilus clarified that this was “not a work event and was coordinated by friends.”
Nautilus added that the individual later “entered our helicopter hangar without authorization.”
The helicopter crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Cairns, a city in northern Queensland, at 1:50am local time on Monday (16:50 BST on Sunday), causing a fire that forced the evacuation of about 400 guests.
The sole passenger on board the helicopter died at the scene, and two hotel guests – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to hospital in stable condition, authorities said.
Amanda Kay, who was staying at a hotel on Cairns’ main esplanade, described seeing a helicopter flying “super low” with no lights on a rainy day.
“[It] The plane turned around and hit the building, she said, adding that the plane “exploded.”
Another bystander said she saw the helicopter fly over the hotel twice before the collision.
“Boy, that helicopter went so fast. It’s unbelievable,” one woman says in the video, which shows the violent aftermath of the crash.
“Things got out of hand, that’s all.”
According to the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), two of the helicopter’s rotor blades came off during the impact and landed on the Esplanade and hotel swimming pool.
In a statement, Nautilus Air said it had completed interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) and was working with full transparency to uncover the events surrounding the incident.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual’s family and all those affected by this tragedy, and continue to provide support to our employees during this very challenging time,” the statement read.
“We will continue to work closely with the QPS and ATSB to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
The city of Cairns is located in northern Queensland and is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.
