/ 08 March 2023

Investigating a deadly helicopter crash

A damaged Sea World Helicopter at the scene of a helicopter collision near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast, Monday, January 2, 2023. Four people are dead and another 13 injured after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING
A damaged Sea World Helicopter at the scene of a helicopter collision near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast, Monday, January 2, 2023. Four people are dead and another 13 injured after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released a preliminary report into what went wrong before a fatal chopper collision earlier this year… To remind you of what happened, 2 helicopters used for joyrides by Gold Coast theme park Sea World crashed in mid-air on 2 January. One of the choppers was destroyed, while the other managed to land, and the tragedy left 4 people dead and 9 with various injuries. And now, the ATSB says the helicopter pilot who was about to land didn’t receive a call over the radio from the pilot who was about to take off. But that’s not where things end – ATSB boss Angus Mitchell says “it’s important to stress that we are yet to make findings”. He says as the investigation progresses, the agency will focus on analysing the pilots’ radio calls and look into any potential problems they had in seeing each other.

Know someone who'd be interested in this story? Click to share...

The Squiz Today

Your shortcut to being informed, we've got your news needs covered.

Get the Squiz Today newsletter

Quick, agenda-free news that doesn't take itself too seriously. Get on it.