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The second Gold Coast pilot who managed to land his badly broken helicopter “deserves reward” for saving all six lives on board, in keeping with an aviation professional.
Michael James, 52, and 4 of his 5 passengers suffered minor glass shrapnel wounds when the cockpit was struck by the principle rotor of the opposite plane.
The mid-air collision between two Sea World helicopters conducting pleasure flights claimed the lives of 4 individuals — pilot Ashley Jenkinson, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, and Sydney mom Vanessa Tadros.
The 4 died when their chopper misplaced its principal rotor blades and crashed closely onto a sandbar.
Two boys — Ms Tadros’s 10-year-old son Nicholas and nine-year-old Leon De Silva, from Geelong — had been in vital circumstances in hospital on Wednesday evening whereas Leon’s mom, Winnie De Silva, was in a severe situation.
Nicholas has reportedly undergone quite a few surgical procedures and a Kids’s Well being Queensland spokesperson mentioned on Wednesday that Leon had been in a secure situation on Tuesday however was now vital.
Ms De Silva’s husband, Neil, acknowledged on a web based fundraiser, which raised greater than $7000 within the house of seven hours on Tuesday, that the household had been on a fast vacation to Queensland.
“Fortunately they’re each alive however have loads of surgical procedure forward of them which suggests the household might want to keep right here on the Gold Coast and I will not be capable of return to work,” Mr De Silva mentioned.
Aviation professional Neil Hansford, from Strategic Aviation Options, informed the ABC the surviving pilot displayed “nice expertise” to land the helicopter after its cockpit had been struck.
“He is finished an distinctive job getting that helicopter on the bottom and saving all people’s lives,” Mr Hansford mentioned.
A Queensland Well being spokesperson mentioned three of the six individuals within the second helicopter had been nonetheless in hospital and all had been in a secure situation, together with the pilot.
That helicopter’s passengers included a West Australian girl and two New Zealand {couples} of their 40s who had been touring collectively.
The Australian Transport Security Bureau is probing the crash, notably what occurred inside the 2 cockpits on the level of affect, and it has rescued each helicopters from the sandbar.
