Pilot relives the awful, chaotic scenes in the aftermath of the Sea World Helicopter tragedy: ‘My mate was hanging dead upside-down in the wreckage’
- Pilot relieves horror scene following Sea World tragedy
- Paul Gibson said he saw his mates lifeless body upside down
- Four people died in the helicopter crash on the Gold Coast
A pilot who was one of the first on the scene at the SeaWorld helicopter crash site has spoken for the first time about seeing his mate’s lifeless body hanging upside down in the debris.
A five-minute joy flight turned into one of Queensland’s worst aviation incidents on January 2 when two helicopters collided near the Sea World theme park.
Sea World helicopter pilot Ash Jenkinson, British newlyweds Ron and Diane Hughes and Sydney mum Vanessa Tadros lost their lives in the mid-air crash, with another nine passengers injured.
A large-scale emergency response was summoned in a matter of minutes with surf rescue helicopter pilot Paul Gibson one of the first responders on the scene.
His friend and fellow pilot, Ash Jenkinson, was killed instantly in the horror crash, just hours after Mr Gibson had earlier said g’day to his mate.
Rescue pilot from the Sea World helicopter tragedy, Paul Gibson (pictured), has spoken for the first time about seeing his mates lifeless body hanging upside down in the helicopter wreck
A five-minute joy flight turned into one of Queensland’s worst aviation incidents on January 2 when two helicopters collided near the Sea World theme park (pictured: sandbar about 100m from the Sea World)
‘I had been on duty all day, I had spoken to both of the boys – Michael and Ash,’ Mr Gibson told The Courier Mail.
‘I didn’t know immediately (if Mr Jenkinson was on board) but when we landed and I surveyed both wreckages I knew one of them was Ash…
‘I saw his body upside down in the helicopter.’
The crash site was a sandbar about 100m from the park with vision showing Queensland Fire and Emergency Services personnel with blood transfusions in hand, desperately trying to save the lives of those on board.
More than two dozen responders were on scene within 10 minutes, coming to the aid of the passengers, many trying to shield their bodies from onlookers and the hot sun.
Sea World helicopter pilot Ash Jenkinson (right), British newlyweds Ron and Diane Hughes and Sydney mum Vanessa Tadros lost their lives in the mid-air crash, with a further nine passengers injured in the collision
One of the survivors was helicopter pilot Michael James, who miraculously managed to land his aircraft and save everyone onboard.
‘When we first landed Michael, the pilot of the aircraft which landed upright … he was sort of wandering around a bit,’ revealed Mr Gibson.
‘I just grabbed him, introduced myself and asked his name … and then I sat him down at the foot of our helicopter and just gave him a bit of a once over.
‘He had a lot of debris from what I take to be the windscreen of his helicopter sort of embedded in his body … but to my eye, he had no life-threatening injuries.’
The pilot said while the incident was ‘confronting’ everyone went into ‘job mode’ and it was only on reflection after the fact when the reality sunk in.
The mid-air collision occurred just 20 seconds after the lower aircraft took off when it was about 250ft off the ground
The mid-air collision occurred just 20 seconds after the lower aircraft took off when it was about 250ft off the ground.
Witnesses said they saw a cloud of broken glass and debris explode as the two aircraft slammed into each other.
Queensland Police and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are examining the crash but a final verdict on what caused it isn’t expected until 2024.
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