A stolen helicopter crashed into a hotel in Australia, killing the pilot and somehow only minorly injuring 2 other people
A piece of the helicopter on a roadside in Cairns.
A person has died after a helicopter crashed into a hotel in Australia on Monday.
Nautilus Aviation, the aircraft’s owner, said in a statement that the flight, in the northeastern city of Cairns, was “unauthorized.”
ABC reported that the helicopter was stolen.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the pilot, who was the only person on board, died after the collision. The helicopter, a Robinson R44 II, was destroyed by impact forces and fire, it added.
Emergency services were called at around 1:50 a.m. local time, Queensland Police said.
The Guardian reported that 300 to 400 people were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. The local ambulance service said no injuries were sustained by people on the ground.
Two people in the hotel, however, were taken to the hospital.
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Angus Mitchell, the chief commissioner of the ATSB, said two people were asleep in the hotel room which was impacted by the collision.
“It was devastation, obviously, the blades of the helicopter have gone into the room,” he told ABC.
ABC reported that a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s were taken to hospital in a stable condition and later discharged.
“Now we understand the helicopter was only in the air for a very short period of time coming out of the Cairns airport, down across parts of Cairns itself, and then ultimately into the side of the building,” Mitchell added.
“Nautilus Aviation are working closely with the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities as they investigate the unauthorised use of one of our helicopters in the early hours of this morning,” the charter company said in a statement shared with B-17.
“As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time,” it added.
