7News – Aviation Expert Analyses Cairns Helicopter Crash: What Will the ATSB Look For? – August 12, 2024

Speaker 1 (00:00):
… the investigation.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Let’s bring in pilot and aviation lawyer, Peter Carter now. Peter, thanks for your time. What will the ATSB look for in their investigation?

Peter Carter (00:12):
Well, first of all, as they said, they want to be able to identify who the pilot was so they can put together a sequence of events leading up to the accident and the aircraft being stolen in order to determine, among other things, the pilot’s motivation for this escapade.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Parts of the chopper were found in the hotel’s pool and in park land opposite. What does that tell us about the crash?

Peter Carter (00:37):
It tells us that the aircraft was still delivering power at the time of impact, most likely, and that the power was such that part of the rotor flew quite some distance. It also could be telling of some equipment failure of a component of the aircraft.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
The Cairns Esplanade is a designated no-fly zone. Is that something the pilot would’ve known?

Peter Carter (01:09):
It’s in the Cairns airport control zone, yes, so that would be, of course, known to the pilot, assuming that the pilot had a high level of experience. He must have had some experience to be able to fly the aircraft. All these things matters for the investigation.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Peter Carter, thanks for your insight.

Peter Carter (01:34):
Thank you.