The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen plane into a waterfront hotel, causing a massive fire and forcing a mass evacuation, has been named “employee of the month.”
Blake Wilson, 23, was at the controls of an R44 Robinson helicopter when it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at about 1.50am on Monday.
The ‘unauthorised’, four-minute flight took off from the Nautilus hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane flying dangerously low and at high speed over the city’s no-fly zone Esplanade before crashing into the roof of the hotel and bursting into flames.
Mr Wilson died in the crash, while an 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. Some 400 staff and guests were evacuated from the building.
The 23-year-old moved from Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island to Cairns in March and landed a job with the charter company a month later.
Although Mr Wilson was a fully qualified commercial pilot in New Zealand, he was not permitted to fly helicopters in Australia and was employed as a Nautilus ground crew member.
Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn said he was “stunned” when Wilson was named employee of the month.
Blake Wilson, 23, was at the controls of a stolen R44 Robinson helicopter when it crashed into the roof of a waterfront hotel
Mr Wilson’s ‘unauthorised’ four-minute flight ended when he crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, causing a massive fire and mass evacuation
Mr Finn added that the young employee had also been promoted and would start his new role as a tanker driver on Horn Island, above Australia’s Top End, on Monday.
“He won the employee of the month award on Friday, we can’t fault him as a person or an employee,” Mr Finn said. The courier post.
“We’re all baffled as to why this happened. I can’t say much more than that, other than he was a model employee.”
Company colleagues hosted a farewell dinner and drinks for Mr Wilson on Sunday evening, just hours before he boarded his fateful flight.
Mr Finn explained that the company had “put out a few sausages” as part of an employee of the month event on Thursday evening.
He reiterated that any festivities on Sunday evening were privately organised by staff members and took place at various locations around the city and not in the company hangar, as such gatherings were never held or permitted there.
Mr Wilson was a fully qualified commercial pilot in New Zealand and moved to Cairns in March before taking up a position with Nautilus Aviation as a ground crew member
Nautilus CEO Aaron Finn (pictured) had named Mr. Wilson “employee of the month” just days before the fatal crash
Mr Finn confirmed that his employees had gone home at 8.30pm and that it was Mr Wilson’s ‘prerogative’ to stay home as he did not have to work on Monday.
“It wasn’t a drunken party, it wasn’t a big party… if he wanted to stay away, that was his right… so for everyone to criticise it and say it was a big party, that’s not true,” Finn said.
A witness told media that Mr Wilson was ‘drunk’ at the celebratory dinner and had to go to bed.
He reportedly left his room later that evening and got behind the wheel of a Nautilus vehicle, which he drove to the company’s headquarters at Cairns Airport.
According to Mr Finn, the young worker remained ‘unnoticed’ after spending approximately 45 minutes to an hour in the hangar before taking off in the helicopter.
He added that Mr Wilson gained access to the hangar using a PIN code, which was shared by all employees.
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