Cairns helicopter crash: New details emerge after Blake Wilson ‘put to bed’ before crashing helicopter into DoubleTree Hilton

The helicopter pilot who crashed a stolen plane into a waterfront hotel had been “put to bed” after a night of drinking before taking off on his fatal flight.

Blake Wilson, 23, was at the controls of an R44 Robinson helicopter when it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns at about 1.50am on Monday.

The helicopter flew over the city’s business district for at least five minutes before crashing into the roof of the hotel, shattering windows of nearby rooms.

Two guests, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

Nautilus Aviation, which employed the pilot as a ground crew, said he gained unauthorized access to a helicopter in its hangar after attending an unofficial retirement party.

Daily Mail Australia reports that Wilson was ‘drunk’ during the celebratory dinner and had to go to bed.

Mr Wilson, originally from Palmerston North in New Zealand’s North Island, obtained his pilot’s licence with Christchurch Helicopters in April 2022. Christchurch Helicopters’ pilots and instructors include New Zealand’s most famous All Blacks rugby player, Richie McCaw.

Christchurch Helicopters said in a statement that Mr Wilson had a New Zealand pilot’s licence but had never flown in Australia and was not authorised to operate a Nautilus Aviation helicopter.

“Blake completed his Aviation Diploma with Christchurch Helicopters in 2022,” the statement said.

Cairns hotel crash pilot Blake Wilson partied with friends in New Zealand before heading to Australia for his ‘new adventure’. It ended in tragedy when he stole a helicopter after a night out drinking

Nautilus helicopter in the hangar where Blake Wilson stole an R44 Robinson aircraft in the early morning hours of Monday and flew it for four minutes before crashing into the Double Tree

He was loved by the staff and his classmates.

“He will be missed by the team at Christchurch Helicopters and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

On Wilson’s Instagram page, he stands proudly next to a helicopter at Christchurch Helicopter’s headquarters in September 2022, declaring that he is “officially a commercial helicopter pilot.”

In March this year, he moved to Cairns with his girlfriend and interviewed with several helicopter charter companies before landing at Nautilus Aviation, which operates from seven bases across Northern Australia.

Shortly after moving, he posted a photo of the Esplanade in Cairns and wrote:: ‘The new home in Far North Queensland. Excited to see what this adventure will bring #itsbloodyhothere’.

Fire breaks out on the roof of the Cairns hotel (left) after Blake Wilson crashed the helicopter into the roof. Rugby legend Richie McCaw (right) is one of the pilots at Christchurch Helicopters, where Blake Wilson trained in New Zealand

A week later he posted a photo of himself with six friends at nearby Gilligans bar in Cairns.

He worked at the Nautilus base in Cairns for more than four months before being promoted to work as a tanker driver for the company on Horn Island, above Australia’s Top End. He was due to start on Monday.

Company colleagues hosted a farewell dinner and drinks for Mr Wilson on Sunday evening, just hours before he embarked on his fatal flight.

A witness told media that Mr Wilson was ‘drunk’ at the celebratory dinner and had to go to bed.

He reportedly left his room later that evening and got behind the wheel of a Nautilus vehicle, driving to the company’s headquarters at Cairns Airport before leaving in the helicopter.

Now questions have been raised about security at the airport and how he was able to gain access to the helicopter so late at night.

“The security at that airport is the same as most, if not all, general aviation airports in Australia. So a review is probably well worth doing, in my opinion,” aviation expert Peter Carter said.

“It’s an inside job, so it’s very difficult to put safeguards in place to prevent these kinds of things from happening.

Blake Wilson is pictured enjoying a night out shortly after moving to Cairns

Fatal escape route of New Zealander Blake Wilson who stole an R44 Robinson helicopter from Cairns airport and crashed it into the Cairns Double Tree hotel four minutes later

“The company can consider different levels of access, depending on the seniority of the employee. In my opinion, the company itself must draw a conclusion about the measures it takes for security.”

According to Cairns Airport, an initial investigation indicated that access to the site was not at risk.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the disturbing incident at Cairns Esplanade,” CEO Richard Barker said in a statement.

‘Cairns Airport operates under a federally approved, multi-tiered transport security program.

“To reassure our community, we would like to confirm that an investigation has been conducted and has concluded that there has been no breach of our airport fence or access points.”