Transport Safety officials say an Australian theme Park and a deadly radio antenna contributed to a deadly mid-air helicopter collision.
Four people died – which included two British tourists – and several more seriously injured when the two aircraft killed each other near the sea world on the gold coast in January 2023.
An investigation by Australia’s Transport and Security Bureau (ATSB) found that one of the pilots did not hear a significant radio call shortly before the accident, and that a range of changes by the maritime world meant that the risk controls had ended over time.
The accident shook the Gold Coast, which is one of the country’s largest tourist hotspots.
Two helicopters collided after about 20 seconds and the other was descending as one.
Those who died, they were all traveling in helicopters who were unloading. Other aircraft managed to make an emergency landing, in which passengers suffered several injuries.
The ATSB report found that in the leading months for the accident, C World tried to improve the offer of holiday flights by adding a second helipad location and presenting a big Eurocopter EC140 B4 helicopters.
“Over time, these changes reduced the risk controls used to manage traffic separation and created a conflict point between launching and departing helicopters,” said this.
The aircraft preparing to take off also had a defective antenna.
In the run-up for the collision, a call of the arrival helicopter was not heard or heard by the pilot, which was loading the passengers at that time.
However, once the passenger was on the board, a ground crew member advised the departure helicopter pilot that the airspace was clear. By the time Chopper flew, however, this information was no longer correct.
Meanwhile, the pilot who wanted to get down after a five -minute beautiful flight saw the other helicopter on the ground, but it was not a danger, the report said in the report.
If that situation changes, they would be expected to be vigilant by “taxiing” radio calls. Although defective antenna prevented the broadcast of taxi calls, the report states.
“Without receiving a taxiing call, there was no trigger to re -assure the position of the helicopter departing as a risk of confrontation, the pilots of the inbound helicopter, who were probably focusing on their landing site.
Among those who died were 57 -year -old Dyne Hughes and 65 -year -old husband Ron from Neston, Cheshire. She married in 2022 and was on leave after separation by Kovid.
The “Fun-Fun” couple of Neston, Cheshire had “an enthusiasm for life”, their family said in a statement at that time.
In addition, Vanessa Tadros, resident of Sydney, 36, and 40 -year -old sea world helicopter pilot Ashley Jenkinson, originally from Birmingham.
One and six people were seriously injured, while three others suffered minor injuries in the accident.
Shortly after the accident, the passengers who were returning to the flight saw the helicopter as a “hero” to safely landed.
Among all, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau made 28 conclusions that outline the “major text” for operators and pilots.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said, “The most fundamental lesson from this investigation is that changing aviation operations, even those who appear to increase security, may have unexpected results.”
“Therefore it is important that changes in aviation operations are managed through the implementation of a defined procedure to ensure that overall security will not be adversely affected.”
