A helicopter that crashed into a Far North Queensland hotel roof was stolen before being taken on an "unauthorised flight", the aviation company it belonged to has confirmed.
The pilot, who has not yet been identified, was alone in the helicopter and died at the scene.
Investigations are continuing into who was flying the aircraft, but Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn confirmed to the ABC that all its pilots had been accounted for.
Up to 400 people were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton on Cairns Esplanade after the crash, which set the top of the building alight, shortly before 2am on Monday, police said.
Two of the helicopter's rotor blades came off and landed on the esplanade and in the hotel pool. There were no injuries on the ground.
Charter company Nautilus Aviation said the use of the helicopter was "unauthorised".
"As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time."
Two hotel guests — a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s — were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition and have since been discharged.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell described one of the hotel rooms close to the crash as a "catastrophic sight".
He said because of the significant wreckage, it would take some time for investigators to answer questions over the nature of the flight and the sequence of events.
"Now we understand the helicopter was only in the air for a very short period of time coming out of the Cairns airport, down across parts of Cairns itself, and then ultimately into the side of the building," he said.
"We'll piece that together from not only witness statements and some of the CCTV that have captured it, but equally, what we can actually gather from the crash site itself, any of the recording devices that were on and operable on the helicopter that we can recover now."
Mr Mitchell said helicopter crashes were always challenging because of their "internal power".
"When that hits an immovable object, like a building, then that dissipates very quickly," he said.
"And as we know from this particular crash site, we've got debris from across the road, into the pool, and indeed on the helicopter where it landed on the roof."
He said investigators would also be seeing what was recorded by the air traffic control's primary radar and if the pilot was using the radio.
"We know that a lot of stages of the flight, from our witness statements, the helicopter was quite low," he said.
"So whether or not that's been picked up by radar, whether the pilot has made any transmissions or not, that's something that we will certainly look into."
Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes said investigations with the ATSB were continuing, and a report would be prepared for the coroner.
He was unable to comment on the speed of the helicopter, or whether the pilot had a licence.
"The aircraft was moved from a general aviation hangar early this morning, and it was an unauthorised flight," he said.
He confirmed it was a small helicopter, which seats up to four people.
Mr Mitchell said they were still trying to confirm the pilot's identity.
www.abc.net.au
The pilot, who has not yet been identified, was alone in the helicopter and died at the scene.
Investigations are continuing into who was flying the aircraft, but Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn confirmed to the ABC that all its pilots had been accounted for.
Up to 400 people were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton on Cairns Esplanade after the crash, which set the top of the building alight, shortly before 2am on Monday, police said.
Two of the helicopter's rotor blades came off and landed on the esplanade and in the hotel pool. There were no injuries on the ground.
Charter company Nautilus Aviation said the use of the helicopter was "unauthorised".
"As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time."
Two hotel guests — a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s — were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition and have since been discharged.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell described one of the hotel rooms close to the crash as a "catastrophic sight".
He said because of the significant wreckage, it would take some time for investigators to answer questions over the nature of the flight and the sequence of events.
"Now we understand the helicopter was only in the air for a very short period of time coming out of the Cairns airport, down across parts of Cairns itself, and then ultimately into the side of the building," he said.
"We'll piece that together from not only witness statements and some of the CCTV that have captured it, but equally, what we can actually gather from the crash site itself, any of the recording devices that were on and operable on the helicopter that we can recover now."
Mr Mitchell said helicopter crashes were always challenging because of their "internal power".
"When that hits an immovable object, like a building, then that dissipates very quickly," he said.
"And as we know from this particular crash site, we've got debris from across the road, into the pool, and indeed on the helicopter where it landed on the roof."
He said investigators would also be seeing what was recorded by the air traffic control's primary radar and if the pilot was using the radio.
"We know that a lot of stages of the flight, from our witness statements, the helicopter was quite low," he said.
"So whether or not that's been picked up by radar, whether the pilot has made any transmissions or not, that's something that we will certainly look into."
Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes said investigations with the ATSB were continuing, and a report would be prepared for the coroner.
He was unable to comment on the speed of the helicopter, or whether the pilot had a licence.
"The aircraft was moved from a general aviation hangar early this morning, and it was an unauthorised flight," he said.
He confirmed it was a small helicopter, which seats up to four people.
Mr Mitchell said they were still trying to confirm the pilot's identity.
Pilot flying stolen helicopter killed after crashing into Cairns hotel
Up to 400 people were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton on Cairns Esplanade after the crash, which set the top of the building alight.
www.abc.net.au
