Pilot on 'unauthorised flight' dies after crashing helicopter into roof of Hilton hotel

A pilot has died after an 'unauthorised' helicopter flight crashed into a Hilton hotel in Australia.

Around 400 people were evacuated from the Hilton's DoubleTree hotel in Cairns at 2.00am on Monday (12 August).

Authorities said that the identity of the man, along with his reason for making the flight, is yet to be confirmed.

Emergency services were called to the hotel at 1.50am after two of the helicopter’s rotor blades came off and landed in the hotel pool and on the street.

Queensland Police said: "The pilot and single occupant of the aircraft was located and declared deceased at the scene, and forensic investigations are under way to formally identify them.

"The building was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries sustained by people on the ground.

"The Forensic Crash Unit, working alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), will prepare a report for the coroner."

Queensland police acting Ch Supt Shane Holmes noted that a couple staying at the hotel, who were taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation, have been discharged.

Nautilus Aviation, the company which owns the helicopter, said in a statement: "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."

Meanwhile, Holmes added: "There is no further threat to the community, and we believe this is an isolated incident."

He also said at the press conference that the helicopter was 'not in the air for a great deal of time'.

“We are working with a local aviation operator to understand the circumstances that led to the [helicopter] becoming airborne,” he explained.

“I think it’s just by pure luck that … more people weren’t injured.”

The fire after the helicopter crashed on the roof of Double Tree Hotel in Cairns. A friend was staying there. pic.twitter.com/Q5mkJ0BYHc

— Ben Pennings (@BenPennings) August 11, 2024

Jill Ball and her husband Robert, who were staying at the DoubleTree hotel, said the sound of the crash was so loud that it woke them up.

“I was lucky enough that I put my clothes on, but some poor people came out in bare feet and pyjamas,” she told The Guardian.

Of the couple that were taken and discharged from hospital, she added: “They were just very stressed because, you know, their window had shattered in their room.”

Fellow guest Alastair Salmon told ABC it was 'a colossal ear-deafening bang'.

LADbible Group has contacted Hilton, Queensland Police and Nautilus Aviation for additional comment.