Speaker 1 (00:00):
… is nuts. So we’re going to an expert today. Now this bloke is the director of Carter Capner Law. He’s one of Australia’s most experienced lawyers in the field of aviation. Peter Carter, the unfortunate SeaWorld accident, have you ever been into one as strange as this though?

Peter Carter (00:19):
Look, it is a mystery, but I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it. What we know so far has improved over the day with details very gradually being issued. We now know from the owner of the helicopter that it was none of their pilots, but they can’t rule out whether it was any of their staff. They have other staff who aren’t pilots. They haven’t ruled that out, and police are investigating that aspect. So once we know that, we’ll have a better idea of the first part of the mystery.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Peter, I mean, you’ve been through a lot of these in your job, is it possible or plausible that it could have been a Joe Blow off the street with no aviation experience?

Peter Carter (01:01):
It could be a Joe Blow off the street, but he’d have to have aviation experience. You can’t fly a helicopter without training. So there have been cases of people stealing aircraft, fixed wing aircraft, without training and taking them, stealing those aircraft. But I haven’t heard of any other similar case involving helicopters.

Jess (01:22):
We’ve heard that the helicopter was in the hangar. How do you take a helicopter? The keys?

Peter Carter (01:28):
Yeah. First of all, you have to get into the general aviation compound at Cairns Airport. Secondly, you have to get into the hangar. So presumably that was locked up. And thirdly, you have to push the helicopter out of the hangar and start the engine, usually with keys. So the person would’ve had to have knowledge about where to go, how to access the keys, and certainly how to fly the aircraft, at least to be able to take it off.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Peter, how much worse could this have been? Because the crash on top of the DoubleTree by Hilton meant that no one inside was hurt. I think it was 400 plus were evacuated, but let’s say if it was a little bit lower, this could have been really horrific.

Peter Carter (02:16):
It could have been. It could have been an incident of an aircraft flying into the side of a hotel, which would’ve been far more catastrophic with fires on several levels of the hotel, immediately affecting those residing there. So we’re very grateful that that didn’t happen.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Pete, we really appreciate your time, mate. It is a strange but awful story. We are thinking of the family, the bloke that was involved in this that did pass away. We might touch base with you over the next couple of days as some more comes out from that story. Really appreciate your time on the Rush Hour.

Peter Carter (02:53):
Okay guys, thanks.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
It’s Peter Carter, the director of Carter Capner Law. I’ve spent a lot of time in Cairns. I know you did too, as well, Jess. I’ve never heard a story like that.

Jess (03:01):
No.