Recently married couple among 4 killed in Australia chopper horror
A recently married couple was among four people killed in a mid-air collision of helicopters over a crowded waterfront at a popular Australian tourist hotspot Monday.
The horror crash occurred near Main Beach on Australia’s Gold Coast and involved two aircraft operated by Sea World Helicopters that were carrying a total of 13 people, including the pilots.
One of the pilots died in the crash, while the other miraculously landed his aircraft safely on a sandy outcrop despite it being damaged in the collision.
“Considering the damage that was done to the front left-hand section of the helicopter, where the pilot was sitting, that has been a remarkable achievement,” said Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell, whose office is investigating the crash.
“So whilst it has been very tragic that four people have lost their lives and many people are mourning this morning, we could have had a far worse situation here, and the fact that one helicopter managed to land has been quite remarkable,” Mitchell added.
The victims have been identified as Diane Hughes, 57, and her husband Ron Hughes, 65, from the UK; Vanessa Tadros, 36, of Sydney, Australia, and veteran Sea World Helicopters pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40.
Three passengers, including two children, were seriously injured in the crash.
Tadros’s 10-year-old son remained hospitalized in critical condition, along with 33-year-old Winnie de Silva from Geelong. De Silva’s 9-year-old son, Leon, was in stable condition, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
De Silva’s husband, Neil, wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign that his wife and son “are both alive but have a lot of surgery ahead of them.”
The Hughes of Liverpool were married in August 2021 and traveled to Australia to visit Ron’s grown daughter and her family, reported The Guardian.
Jenkinson had worked as a chief pilot at Sea World Helicopters since 2019, and friends praised his mentorship and the assistance he provided during catastrophic floods in New South Wales last year. The Gold Coast Bulletin reported he welcomed a son with his partner in September.
Ritchie Gregg, a close friend of Jenkinson, described him to BBC News as a “gentle giant” and a “silent hero.”
“He was always out there helping the community — from the bushfires a few years ago to the flood waters last year,” Gregg said.
“If it wasn’t for him, a lot of people wouldn’t have got the help that they got,” the pal added.
Jenkinson’s Airbus helicopter had been in the air for fewer than 20 seconds when it collided with the second Sea World chopper attempting to land.
Mitchell said the main rotor blade of Jenkinson’s aircraft made contact with the front cockpit of the descending helicopter.
“That in itself has led to the main rotor and the gearbox separating from that helicopter, which has meant that, tragically, it’s then had no lift and has fallen heavily to the ground,” he said.
The passengers from the helicopter that landed safely included two couples in their 40s from New Zealand and a 27-year-old woman from Western Australia. Three of the five passengers remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after being showered in glass.
Investigators have remained at the scene of the crash site, but a rising sea tide was adding to the difficulty of collecting evidence there.
Mitchell said investigators wanted to determine what was occurring in the “cockpits at the time” of the collision.
Village Roadshow Theme Parks, which owns Sea World Helicopters, said in a statement it is working with authorities while “offering its deepest condolences to those impacted” by the tragedy.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also offered his “deepest sympathies to those who are grieving.
“Australia is shocked by the news of the terrible and tragic helicopter incident … on the Gold Coast,” he wrote on social media.
With Post wires
