Kiwi Blake Wilson named as pilot who took helicopter and crashed into Cairns hotel

Kiwi helicopter pilot Blake Wilson has been named as the man who died when he crashed a stolen helicopter into a Cairns hotel.

• The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into a Cairns hotel has been identified as a New Zealander.
• Blake Wilson, 23, died when the helicopter crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton at 2am Monday.
• Wilson was drinking with friends on the night of the crash to celebrate a promotion.

The man who stole a helicopter and crashed it into a hotel in Cairns, Australia has been identified as a New Zealander.

Queensland police said Blake Wilson, 23, died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed into the DoubleTree by Hilton about 2am on Monday.

According to Wilson’s Facebook page, he is from Palmerston North and trained to be a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters.

A friend posted on social media described Wilson as “caring” and “genuine”.

“I will miss you immensely.”

Wilson’s former employer Hurunui Helicopters said they were shocked by his death.

Spokesperson Andy Toomer said their thoughts were with his family and friends.

Nautilus Aviation, a helicopter tour company, said the pilot was one of its employees. The business said the person had only begun working for it about four months ago and was not authorised to fly helicopters for the business.

“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 in a statement.

According to Wilson’s Facebook page he is from Palmerston North and trained to be a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters. Photo / Facebook

“We will be leaving the release of the individual’s details to QPS [Queensland Police Service].”

Nautilis Aviation said there had been a celebration with other staff the night before the crash.

“We would like to address rumours regarding a gathering of some Nautilus Aviation employees, including off-duty pilots, on Sunday night.

“We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning’s incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases.

“This was not a work event and was co-ordinated by friends.”

New Zealander Blake Wilson, a trained helicopter pilot who died after taking a helicopter which crashed into a Cairns hotel. Photo / Facebook

Cairns Airport chief executive Richard Barker released a statement saying a review was being done, according to news.com.au.

“Cairns airport operates under a federally approved, multi-layered transport security programme,” Barker said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the incident.

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”.

“We will continue to work very closely with Queensland police and the ATSB as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

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