Seconds from impact: Video shows passenger warning pilot about second chopper
Cockpit video has emerged of a passenger trying to warn a pilot seconds before two helicopters collided in mid-air on the Gold Coast, killing four people.
John Orr-Campbell, director and owner of Sea World Helicopters, has paid tribute to those involved.
āThe tragic helicopter accident on the Southport Broadwater on 2 January 2023 has impacted many people, and we pay tribute to those that lost their lives,ā he said in a statement.
āWe also acknowledge the suffering of those that were injured.
āWe have and continue to reach out directly to offer our deepest condolences, support and counselling to the families and passengers of both aircraft.ā
Mr Orr-Campbell offered a moving tribute to the companyās chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson who was killed in the accident.
āI knew Ash personally for nine years. He was a fine man and a standout pilot with 6,210 hours of flying to his name.
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āTo lose a man and a pilot of Ashās calibre is shocking in every sense of the word. I, along with all the staff at Sea World Helicopters, are gutted to the core.
āMy heart aches as I think of Ashās fiancee Kosha and his one-year-old son Kayden.ā
Mr Orr-Campbell also acknowledged second pilot Michael James who was able to land his chopper safely after the incident, sparing the lives of all on board.
āI would also like to commend the other pilot, Michael James, who heroically got the second aircraft to the ground safely. We wish him well in his recovery.ā
The statement comes hours after cockpit video emerged capturing the final seconds of the doomed flight.
The video taken inside the second helicopter in the lead-up to the crash appears to show one passenger trying to warn the pilot by tapping him on the shoulder.
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The passenger then squeezes the edge of the pilotās seat to brace as the cockpit is sprayed with broken glass after the first helicopterās main rotor strikes the windshield of the second.
Meanwhile, the loved ones of a boy left critically injured in the crash continue to urge people to pray for his recovery.
Nicholas Tadros, 10, from Sydney and Leon de Silva, 9, from Geelong, remain in intensive care after their helicopter flipped and plummeted into a sand bar near Sea World on Monday.
Nicholasās mother, Vanessa Tadros, 36, was among the four people killed in the crash, while Leonās mother Winnie De Silva, 33, was seriously injured when the helicopter lost its main rotor and crashed heavily on a sandbar.
The crash also claimed the lives of Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, from Liverpool in the UK.
Nicholas Tadros is fighting for his life in hospital from āabsolutely catastrophicā injuries he suffered in the accident, family friend Rochelle Fajloun said.
āItās only by Godās grace that he survived. He remains in an induced coma and on life-support with his father and his grandmother by his side,ā she told Sunrise.
Ms de Silvaās husband Neil said his stepson Leon was also fighting in hospital and was still unable to open his eyes or talk.
But he added the nine-year-old managed to give a very weak thumbs-up when his mother told him everything was going to be alright during a Wednesday phone call.
āIt wasnāt a full thumbs-up, it was about halfway, but that was fantastic news yesterday, so theyāre fighting on and weāre gonna have a long battle ahead of us,ā he said.
Mr de Silva said his wife, who was still in intensive care, wanted to send condolences to the Tadros and Hughes families.
āWeāre going through hell and canāt imagine what theyāre going through, so she wanted to let them know that sheās thinking and praying for them,ā he said.
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