The pilot that was involved in an accident whereby he flew a stolen helicopter that he crashed into a hotel in Australia was said to have spent the previous night at a party with members of staff.
The helicopter tour belonged to Nautilus Aviation, based in Queensland; the employee was reportedly to have been partying with others at a farewell party some few hours before the crash.
Nautilus further said that the individual had a license to fly helicopters in New Zealand but had no experience flying in Australia.
The pilot was killed in the accident, and two hotel guests who were on board were in stable condition at the hospital when the information was being compiled.
Nautilus stated that the man was only recently transferred to what it described as a ‘ground crew role’ at a different base of the company.
On Sunday evening, he held an official party at which some coworkers were present, together with other off-duty pilots. Nautilus then came out to explain that this was not a work event and had been organized by friends.
Nautilus also said that the individual also had “unauthorized physical access” to its helicopter hangar.
The helicopter crashed into the exterior of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns in the Australian state of Queensland at 1.50 am local time Monday, 16.50 BST Sunday, causing a fire before 400 guests had to be evacuated.
According to the official of the authorities, only one person in the helicopter at the time of the accident died, while two guests of the hotel, one man of approximately eighty years and a woman of approximately seventy years, had relatively minor injuries and were sent to the hospital to be treated.
One of those interviewed, Amanda Kay, who was in the hotel within the main esplanade in Cairns at the time of the incident, said that she saw a helicopter hover “extra low” and over a rainy region with no lights.
‘[It] has turned around and hit the building,’ she said, or ‘The aircraft blew up.’
