Vanessa Tadros was killed and her 10-year-old son Nicholas is in an induced coma on life support after Monday's helicopter crash on the Gold Coast.
Vanessa Tadros was killed and her 10-year-old son Nicholas is in an induced coma on life support after Monday's helicopter crash on the Gold Coast.
A father has been left “totally shattered” after watching his family’s helicopter crash to the ground on the Gold Coast on Monday.
Western Sydney man Simon Tadros watched helplessly as the aircraft carrying his wife and 10-year-old son collided with another near Sea World that afternoon.
His wife Vanessa Tadroswas killed, and his son Nicholas, known by loved ones as Nicky, was taken to hospital where he remains on life support.
“I ask everyone to pray for the little man. He is on life support in a critical condition,” Tadros later posted to social media.
“May God pull him back with me and make a good recovery.”
“Any donations that can help the family during this difficult period will be most appreciated.”
Fajloun said Nicky remains critically injured and on life support as he fights for life in a Gold Coast hospital with Simon at his side.
Nicky has reportedly undergone at least four surgeries since the crash on Monday.
“We are praying for a miracle that our Nicky can be brought back to his grief-stricken father, Simon,” Fajloun wrote.
“If by God’s grace, Nicky survives his catastrophic injuries. He will have an intense and protracted recovery period. Please keep him in your prayers.”
Sad twist as mum and son fight for life
Another husband also watched on as the helicopter, also carrying his wife and stepson, plummeted to the ground after the mid-air collision.
“Winnie and Leon’s helicopter took off, it only went about 200 metres in the air,” Neil De Silva told the Herald Sun.
“I could see the other helicopter that was due to land… it looked like they were going to crash into one another.
“As it got closer, I was thinking ‘this is crazy, this looks really bad’ and I just went numb.”
It was a painstaking two-hour wait for De Silva, who was eventually informed his wife Winnie, 33, and stepson Leon, 9, had survived, though they were both taken to hospital in a critical condition.
In a tragic twist, it’s since been revealed that the Geelong family were celebrating the end of the year by treating themselves to a budget holiday to the Gold Coast.
De Silva revealed it had always been a dream of Winnie’s to take her Leon on a chopper ride, so that day, they decided the loosen the purse strings.
“It was Winnie’s dream to take Leon on a helicopter,” de Silva said.
Emergency services on Gold Coast at the scene of the crash. Photo / AP
“I thought I would shout them a 10-minute flight.
“We were on a budget holiday, trying to save money but I wanted them to have that experience.”
Winnie De Silva from Geelong and her son Leon were injured in a helicopter crash on the Gold Coast.
Winnie remains critical but stable in the Gold Coast University Hospital with two broken legs, a damaged left knee, a broken right shoulder and a broken collarbone.
Young Leon is in a coma in Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital with facial and head injuries, a cracked skull and severe trauma to the brain.
Winnie de Silva's son Leon remains in a coma in Brisbane after the helicopter collision on the Gold Coast near Sea World.
“The hospital rang me early this morning to say the left side wasn’t responding how they liked,” de Silva told the Herald Sun.
“They asked my permission to drill a hole into the right side of his skull to attach a device to monitor his brain pressure,” he said.
“Winnie is very worried about him, we all are.”
Emergency workers inspect a helicopter at a scene of the collision near Sea World, on the Gold Coast, Australia. Photo / AP
Leon moved from Kenya to Australia about a year ago to be with his mum Winnie, according to de Silva, and his life here was full of new experiences.
“Four people died - they are blessed to be alive.”
De Silva has organised a Gofundme to support the family as he takes time off work to be by their side.
“Thankfully, they are both alive but have a lot of surgery ahead of them, which means the family will need to stay here on the Gold Coast, and I won’t be able to return to work,” he wrote.
“I’m hoping you can help us out with a small donation to keep us on our feet while Winnie and Leon recover. Any help would be greatly appreciated.”
At the time of publication, the fundraiser had raised A$33,000 ($35,800).
Hunt for answers begins
Pilot Ash “Jenko” Jenkinson, 40, and British newlyweds Ron, 65, and Diane Hughes, 57, were also tragicallykilled in the crash.
The second helicopter involved in the collision was “remarkably” able to land upright on the sandbar despite “considerable damage” to the front of the aircraft.
Pilot Ash 'Jenko' Jenkinson was killed in a helicopter crash near Sea World on the Gold Coast.
“It was a remarkable job considering the damage that was done to the front-left hand part of the aircraft where the pilot was sitting,” Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said on Tuesday.
British couple Diane and Ron Hughes, married in 2021, were killed in the helicopter crash near Sea World at the Gold Coast.
The six passengers - including the pilot - were treated for minor injuries and have since been discharged from the hospital.
“What we do need to know now is what was occurring inside those cockpits.”
Aviation expert Geoff Thomas suggested the collision between the two helicopters had occurred because they were in each other’s blind spot.
“People do not appreciate that when looking down, you can’t see a helicopter up from the surroundings,” he said.
“My sense is that was a factor given both pilots were highly regarded and highly experienced. It may have been a blind spot situation. It is just a terrible tragedy.”
Operation Victor Sandlewood, comprising of Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch Detectives and the Forensic Crash Unit, has been established to assist the Australian Transport Safety Bureau with investigations.
