A man who stole a company helicopter before crashing it into a Cairns CBD hotel was “well liked” by people at the school where he learned to fly.
Hundreds of hotel guests were evacuated when Blake Wilson crashed into the roof of the waterfront DoubleTree by Hilton early on Monday in a helicopter taken from the charter company where he had worked for four months.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: New insight into pilot who crashed chopper into Cairns hotel.
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Wilson, who lived in the suburb of Smithfield, died in the crash.
The 23-year-old had been celebrating his promotion with colleagues at Nautilus Aviation in the lead-up to his death.
While he was currently a ground crew worker, New Zealand native Wilson had previous helicopter flying experience and held a commercial chopper pilot licence in his home country.
“Blake completed his Diploma in Aviation with Christchurch Helicopters in 2022,” flight training school Christchurch Helicopters told 7NEWS.com.au.
“He was well liked by the staff and his fellow classmates.”
The training school, which counts former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw among its pilots, sent its condolences to Wilson’s loved ones.
“He will be missed by the team at Christchurch Helicopters and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time,” it said.
Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn said Wilson had never flown for the company and was not authorised to fly in Australia.
Wilson had enjoyed a farewell party with colleagues on Sunday night as he prepared to move to a new base at Horn Island in the Torres Strait.
“We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning’s incident, who was recently promoted to a ground-crew position at another one of our bases,” Finn said.
“This was not a work event and was co-ordinated by friends.”
Wilson’s motivation for the flight is still under investigation but the crash is not being treated as deliberate.
Finn said the company is co-operating fully with investigators.
The helicopter, a Robinson R44, departed on an “unauthorised” flight from the company’s hangar at Cairns Airport early on Monday morning.
It was seen flying for at least five minutes in the Cairns CBD before it crashed into the hotel roof, smashing windows of nearby rooms including one in which an elderly couple were sleeping.
Wilson was the aircraft’s sole occupant.
Propellers were dislodged when the helicopter hit the roof, with one landing on the street outside and the other — still on fire — in the hotel pool, prompting the evacuation of up to 400 guests.
Cairns Airport said an initial review indicated site access had not been compromised but the incident has shone the spotlight on security and how Wilson was able to fly out undetected.
“Cairns Airport may well consider looking at its specific arrangements, but I think it’s probably too early to tell,” Premier Steven Miles said when asked if a review of airport security was needed.