Pilot killed as helicopter crashes into roof of Cairns hotel in early hours of morning

The owner of a helicopter that crashed into the roof of a large hotel in the centre of Cairns, killing its pilot, says the flight was “unauthorised”.

Queensland ambulance said emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton hotel on the Esplanade, on the city’s main waterfront, around 1.50am on Monday. Hundreds of people were evacuated.

A spokesperson confirmed that two of the helicopter’s propellers came off and landed on the esplanade and in the hotel pool.

Queensland police said the pilot died at the scene and forensic investigations were underway to formally identify him.

The pilot was the single occupant of the twin engine helicopter, police said.

North Queensland-based charter company Nautilus Aviation, which runs scenic tours from nearby on the Cairns waterfront, confirmed on Monday morning that it owned the helicopter and was supporting the ongoing investigation.

“Nautilus Aviation are working closely with the Queensland Police, 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 company said in a statement.

Around 300 to 400 people were evacuated from the hotel building and there were “no injuries sustained by people on the ground”, the ambulance service said.

Two people from inside the hotel – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to Cairns hospital in a stable condition.

Police said the crash had caused a fire on the roof of the hotel.

A report would be prepared for the coroner by the forensic crash unit and Australian Transport Safety Bureau, police said.

Jill Ball and her husband Robert had been staying at the Double Tree Hotel for a couple of nights, before a holiday up to Arnhem Land, and said the noise of the crash was so loud it woke them both up.

Their room was diagonally opposite where the crash occurred, and they could see flames from the impact. Jill said they were initially told to wait in their rooms, before a second message was given to evacuate.

“I was lucky enough that I put my clothes on, but some poor people came out in bare feet and pyjamas,” she said. “It was just such a mess, in as much as there was no communication, it was so disorganised.”

Jill said they were told to “walk this way, then … walk that way [and] the other way” before a bus driver from a tour group staying at the hotel began driving to the evacuation point, taking frightened people across at the direction of police.

“He was doing runs back and forwards and backwards, and he was really the only source of information we had,” she said. “[He] was just such a hero, he was very kind and caring.”

They were in the same bus as the two people who were later taken to hospital, she said, who had been staying in a room near where the helicopter crashed.

“They were just very stressed because, you know, their window had shattered in their room.”

Jill and Robert were able to stay with a friend in Cairns later on Monday morning, but said during their hours-long stay at the evacuation point rumours were rife.

“We would have been there for nearly three hours, and no one addressed the group,” she said. Jill said she was concerned for foreign tourists who appeared to not be able to speak English and would have been confused.

Video on social media showed a fire on the roof of the building.

“A helicopter just flew into a building,” one person said on the audio of footage published to Facebook.

“Boy, that was going fast, that helicopter, too. Unbelievable. Red helicopter. Went past twice, it’s just going out of control that thing was.”

Queensland Ambulance senior operations supervisor in Cairns Caitlin Denning said between 300 and 400 people were being evacuated from the Double Tree Hotel as crews were arriving.

“At the time, it was too unsafe for us to enter the hotel to view the [impact site],” she told reporters.

“The helicopter impacted the roof of the hotel, however two propellers have dislodged.

“One landed on the Cairns Esplanade and there was a second propeller located in the hotel pool on the bottom floor and it was on fire.”

Denning said the noise generated by the impact had frightened those nearby.

“There were reports of it sounding like a bomb, and seeing the fire and smoke, a lot of the occupants of the hotel were unsure of the situation.

“There is a lot of unease here.”

Queensland police declared an exclusion zone around the crash site and members of the public were advised to avoid the area. Police were on the scene investigating the cause of the incident.

Additional reporting from AAP