Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Cairns helicopter crash pilot Blake Wilson's tragic last post before he stole chopper and smashed it into DoubleTree by Hilton hotel
The young pilot who died after he stole a helicopter and crashed it into a Cairns hotel posted just months ago about how excited he was for his 'next adventure'.
New Zealander Blake Wilson, 23, was piloting the R44 Robinson helicopter when it crashed into the roof of DoubleTree by Hilton at about 1.50am on Monday.
He died at the scene.
The tragedy comes months after the young man had moved to Cairns to live out his dream after completing his training to be a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters.
He held a New Zealand pilot's licence but had never flown in Australia.
In March he posted on Instagram about how excited he was for his next adventure in Far North Queensland.
'I'm very proud to announce that I'm officially a Commercial Helicopter Pilot.
'It was a busy 18 months of hard mahi (work), late nights in the books and some challenging days in the seat but all up an incredible experience,' he captioned the post.
New Zealander Blake Wilson (pictured) was piloting a R44 Robinson helicopter when it crashed into the roof of DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton crash in Cairns
Mr Wilson (pictured) had moved to Cairns to live out his dream after completing his training to be a pilot at Christchurch Helicopters
Mr Wilson had posted just months ago about how excited he was for his 'next adventure'
'Big thanks to Christchurch Helicopters for giving me the opportunity and tools to launch into the start of my career.
'Also my friends, family and others who have supported me and helped me fulfil this dreams. 'It's the closure of the first chapter in this adventure and I look forward to many more.'
The young man shared multiple pictures from his time training to be a helicopter pilot.
In one post he described training to be 'one of the harder but most rewarding things I've done'.
His final post, from May, shows him on a hike with friends and swimming in a waterfall.
A friend shared a post on Tuesday night, describing Mr Wilson as 'caring' and 'genuine'.
'I will miss you immensely,' they said.
Mr Wilson, from Palmerston North, had worked as ground staff for Nautilus Aviation for about four months.
He was not cleared to fly helicopters.
'Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot's licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,' the company said in a statement.
Mr Wilson had been celebrating at his own leaving do on Sunday evening after securing a new job at Nautilus Aviation's base on Long Island in the Whitsundays when the tragedy unfolded.
Up to 400 people were evacuated from the Far North Queensland hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
Mr Wilson (left) held a New Zealand pilot's licence but had never flown in Australia prior to the crash
In one post Mr Wilson (pictured) described training to be 'one of the harder but most rewarding things I've done'
Nautilus Aviation, the company that owned the helicopter, confirmed the pilot had worked for them as a ground crew member for about four months and had been celebrating their final day with colleagues before moving to another air base.
'We would like to address rumours regarding a gathering of some Nautilus Aviation employees, including off-duty pilots, on Sunday night,' the company stated.
'We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning's incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases.
'This was not a work event and was co-ordinated by friends.'
Queensland Fire Gold Coast zone commander Greg Tomlinson said earlier on Tuesday it was 'pure luck' no one else was injured in the incident.
Cairns airport chief executive Richard Baker confirmed a review was conducted following the incident
'Cairns airport operates under a federally approved, multi-layered transport security program,' Mr Baker said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
'To reassure our community, we wish to confirm a review has been conducted, showing no compromise of our airport fence or access points.
'To allow investigators to do their vital work, we will not provide further comment at this time.'
Mr Wilson died after the helicopter crashed into the roof of DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton about 1.50am on Monday
Mr Wilson (pictured), from Palmerston North, had worked as ground staff for Nautilus Aviation for about four months. He was not cleared to fly helicopters
Mr Baker added his thoughts were with those affected by the incident, including the loved ones of the pilot and those at charter company Nautilus Aviation, which owned the helicopter, and the airport.
Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes was repeatedly asked on Monday if he knew the motivation of the pilot but declined to give a conclusive answer.
When asked if it looked like a deliberate act or an accident, Superintendent Holmes simply said it was 'unknown at this stage' but believed it was an 'isolated incident'.
The major unanswered questions about the helicopter tragedy
Was he qualified to fly a helicopter?
Mr Wilson only moved to Cairns from his native New Zealand in March.
The young trainee pilot, who is originally from Palmerston North on New Zealand's North Island, gained his private pilots licence Christchurch Helicopters in April 2022, later becoming a fully qualified commercial pilot with the company in September that year.
He moved to Cairns with his girlfriend in March this year and had interviews with several different helicopter charter companies.
Mr Wilson was described as a clean-cut and serious, yet personable, young man by some of those he encountered in the tight-knit industry.
He quickly landed a job in April as a member of the ground crew with Nautilus Aviation, a private charter company which operates from seven bases across Northern Australia.
Despite his qualifications back home, he was not permitted to fly helicopters in Australia.
'Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot's licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,' the company said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon.
This suggests Mr Wilson had not flown a helicopter for almost six months when he decided to get behind the controls of the Robinson 44.
What happened in the lead-up to the incident?
Mr Wilson had just received a promotion to work as a refueller for Nautilus on Horn Island, above Australia's Top End, which he was due to start on Monday.
Colleagues at the company held a farewell dinner and drinks for Mr Wilson on the Sunday night, just hours before he embarked on his fatal flight.
Nautilus Aviation said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon that the dinner was 'not a work event and was coordinated by friends'.
'We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning's incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases,' the statement added.
One witness told Nine News that Mr Wilson had been 'intoxicated' at the celebratory dinner and had to be put to bed.
It's understood that at some point later in the night, he left his room and got behind the wheel of a Nautilus vehicle which he then drove to the company's headquarters at Cairns airport.
From there, he was able to access the hangar due to his role as ground crew. It's understood he used a trolley jack to move the helicopter on to the tarmac.
The weather early Monday morning was overcast with low visibility.
What happened on the flight?
The flight only lasted four minutes and no mayday call was made.
ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said that investigators faced a difficult task of establishing exactly what happened due to the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire.
'We'll spend the next couple of days going through witness statements interviewing the operator and trying to build a better picture,' he told reporters on Tuesday.
'What was the nature of this flight? And what was the flight path taken? And particularly, what were those final seconds of flight phase into the building?'
He added: 'We understand it has taken off from Cairns Airport and it's done one lap down through Cairns.
'Not too long after that it's been out over the mud flats and then come back into the building.
Investigators will scour the hours leading up to the flight, CCTV from the Esplanade, phone recordings of the actual incident, radar from the airport and any recording devices still in tact within the helicopter itself.
This would allow investigators to determine whether it was a transport safety matter or more of a 'regulatory' question, Mr Mitchell added.
He said that the 83-year-old man and the 76-year-old woman who emerged almost completely unscathed after the helicopter landed in their room were 'very lucky'.
'You can appreciate that an almost three-quarters of a tonne helicopter going into the side of a building is going to result in a lot of catastrophic damage,' Mr Mitchell said.
Nautilus Aviation said it had completed interviews with the ATSB and Queensland Police and had 'cooperated with full transparency and disclosure of all events leading up to and following the incident on Monday morning'.
The company added: 'We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual's family and all who have been affected by this tragedy and continue to offer our support to our employees during this very challenging period.'
Is anything known about his mental state?
He relocated to Cairns with his girlfriend in March and excitedly documented the move on social media.
‘The new home in Far North Queensland. Excited to see what this adventure brings,' he captioned a picture of the city's Esplanade on Instagram.
The young Kiwi appeared to be enjoying his time in Cairns, documenting day trips to waterfalls and parties out at local night clubs.
‘Gotta go to the places that the crocs can't get ya,’ he captioned a series of photos taken at a waterfall.
‘Chasing Waterfalls definitely isn't a bad way to spend days off.’
It appears Mr Wilson was on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef with a friend just five days before his fatal plunge from the sky.
A picture of a helicopter parked on a sand spit in the ocean was captioned: ‘Casual Wednesday on a day off’.
However, Daily Mail Australia understands that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend. It is not clear if they were back together at the time of his death.
Nautilus chief executive Aaron Finn described the crash as 'very unfortunate' and suggested it was not being treated as deliberate by investigators.
'He was a great employee, we had no concerns about his well being or his mental state,' Mr Finn said on Tuesday afternoon.