Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is not where the chopper should be at this time of day. Let’s bring in pilot and aviation lawyer, Peter Carter now. Good morning to you, Peter. Can you think of any reason a helicopter would be flying in that area at 2:00 AM?

Peter Carter (00:14):
I can’t. It certainly opens up the suggestion that there’s an unusual operation. The general aviation section of Cairns airport is not far away. I said I’m assuming that that’s where it departed from, but I think that’s going to be one of the first things the investigators will want to know. What operation was being conducted? What was the flight path? How many people were on board and the nature of the impact.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, the airport’s about five kilometers away. Are helicopters, especially commercial or private helicopters, allowed to be flying at that time of night?

Peter Carter (00:50):
There’s no restriction on when they can fly. There are restrictions on how high above ground they are required to be. Normally in that location, a flight plan would’ve been lodged, but we don’t know any of that information yet. It may have been an unauthorised operation. It’s certainly unusual.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
So is it likely to have been a tour helicopter or could it have been an ambulance or a police one, or would we have known that by now?

Peter Carter (01:21):
Look, I would expect that if it was an official helicopter, ambulance or police, that information would’ve been released. Very unlikely to have been a tour.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Wow. It’s a remarkable story, Peter. Thanks for your time. Appreciate that. Bit of information.

Peter Carter (01:38):
Okay, let’s-