Blake Wilson fatal helicopter crash: Cairns employer details final moments before deadly flight

• The employer of a pilot who crashed a helicopter into a Cairns hotel has revealed the final moments of the young pilot’s life.
• Kiwi Blake Wilson, 23, was a “model employee” and even won employee of the month last month.
• It comes after claims from Kiwi colleagues that Wilson was a “cautious, competent” aviator who showed no signs of recklessness.

The employer of the man who stole a helicopter and crashed it into a hotel in Australia has detailed his final moments before his fatal flight.

The Nautilus Aviation boss called 23-year-old Kiwi Blake Wilson a “model employee” and said his crew were “dumbfounded” by his actions.

It follows claims that the pilot’s actions were a shock to fellow Kiwi pilots who said he showed no signs of being reckless during his training.

Wilson died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton, Cairns, at 2am on Monday.

Nautilus Aviation, a helicopter tour company, confirmed Wilson was an employee. The business said Wilson had begun working for it about four months ago and was not authorised to fly helicopters for the business.

Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn revealed Wilson had been dubbed employee of the month last month and was a “model employee”.

Finn told the Courier Mail that Wilson was a “model employee” and they were all “at a loss” by his actions, saying he had been “in a good place” when he spoke to him last Friday.

Kiwi helicopter pilot Blake Wilson passed a two-year course to become a pilot in September 2022.

Finn also addressed speculation about the “party” on Sunday night where staff members allegedly had a big night celebrating a promotion.

He said Wilson decided to stay out while all other employees went home at 8.30pm, telling the local paper “it wasn’t a booze up, it wasn’t a huge night”.

“So for everyone to beat it up and say it was a big, boozy night, it’s incorrect,” Finn told Courier Mail.

The Courier Mail also reported Finn divulging more information about Wilson’s final moments, explaining he had spent 45-60 minutes in the hangar before taking off.

He said he used a communal pin to access the hangar and the keys to the Robinson R44 helicopter were inside the machine.

Seen in a photo posted on social media, according to Wilson’s Facebook page he is from Palmerston North and trained to be a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters.

It comes after a senior Kiwi pilot told the Herald that Wilson was a cautious, competent aviator and showed no signs he was capable of misappropriating and crashing an aircraft.

He said he was “shocked” Wilson threw away his dream career and lost his life - and believed something “really wrong” must have happened for the tragedy to occur.

“When he got in that helicopter, he would have known his career was over whether he died or not.”

The pilot said Wilson passed a two-year diploma course at Christchurch Helicopters Limited in 2022 where he had “plenty of oversight from an approved training officer”.

A spokesperson for Christchurch Helicopters Ltd said Wilson was “well-liked by the staff and his fellow classmates”.

Kiwi helicopter pilot Blake Wilson died when he crashed a stolen helicopter into a Cairns hotel.

In September 2022, Wilson posted to Instagram about how excited he was to be qualified.

“It was a busy 18 months of hard mahi, late nights in the books and some challenging days in the seat but all up an incredible experience,” he wrote.

Nautilus Aviation said it had already been interviewed by the ATSB and Queensland Police and “have co-operated with full transparency and disclosure of all events leading up to and following the incident”.

“Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot’s licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,” the company said.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.