A close friend of the Gold Coast helicopter pilot killed with three passengers in the Sea World disaster tried to call him in the hope he wasn’t among the victims.
Before Sea World’s chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson was confirmed as dead, Andy Taylor frantically tried to find out information about the crash.
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“I saw it come up on a post on social media,” he told Sunrise on Tuesday.
“I tried to ring Ash straight away. At first the phone was dead and then went into the voicemail.”
Another friend then passed on the tragic news.
Jenkinson leaves behind a wife and a young son. Tributes are pouring in for the experienced pilot, who helped deliver aid to victims of last year’s floods in eastern Australia and had instructed numerous novice pilots.
He has been remembered as a “great mate” and “an absolute legend”.
“We used to talk about his job a lot, a job he absolutely loved which not only included rides for tourists but also he battled the intense bush fires a few years back and helped the flood victims,” said one person on Facebook.
Another said: “I know that fun, positive, adventurous spirit of the legend that you are will live on through the lives of everyone that knew you.”
Taylor paid tribute to Jenkinson as the community reels from the loss of his friend.
“He was a big guy with a big heart,” he told Sunrise.
“He did a lot of charity work. We did floods down in Ballina with a team of us who went down and saved a lot of people. Ash was a big part of it. He led us into ground zero and helped a lot.”
Taylor told of just how much Jenkins loved flying.
“He loved it. It was his life,” Taylor said.
“It was everything to him. He loved being a pilot, and he was a good one.
“But above all, he was a family man. He loved his family. His family was certainly first and helicopter second. But they were two passions of his life.”
Colleague Penny Wilson said Jenkinson had “such golden of heart, cheeky sense of humour and always such a laugh to be around”.
“An amazing pilot. Always so kind, helpful, and supportive. A true gentleman, and always willing to lend a hand,” former colleague Lucy Kuhn added.
On Tuesday, investigators revealed Jenkinson was flying a helicopter that was ascending when it was struck by another helicopter that was descending to land.
The impact was about 200m to 300m in altitude, investigators believe.
“It does appear that the main rotor blade of the helicopter blade taking off has collided with the front cockpit of the descending helicopter on the left-hand side,” said the Australian Transpot Safety Bureau’s Angus Mitchell.
“Now, exactly whether that was the very first point of impact, we’re yet to determine.
“The helicopter taking off was in the air for less than 20 seconds and after the collision, it was a matter of seconds before it’s hit the ground. So it has unfolded very quickly.
“But from the footage that we’ve seen and from the damage that we can witness on there, we do know that the second helicopter has landed on the sandbar and that has obviously led to a stage where we aren’t seeing more fatalities here than what we could have.”
The other victims of the fatal incident have been identified as a husband and wife from Britain - aged 65 and 57 respectively. The fourth victim has been identified as a 36-year-old woman from Sydney.
Those severely injured include a 10-year-old boy, who is related to the Sydney woman, and a mother and son from Victoria, aged 33 and nine.
All three remain in hospital.
A witness described the collision as the aircraft having “smacked into each other” about 2pm on Monday.
“Then they broth dropped and one of the helicopters actually lit on fire,” the witness told 7NEWS.
Another witness described the explosion that followed the collision.
“We just looked up and they instantly hit each other,” she said.
“Blades went flying, flames everywhere.”
One helicopter careened upside down into a sandbank at the water’s edge scattering debris over a wide area in the crash about 2pm on Monday near the popular Sea World theme park.
On board, four people were killed and three passengers were critically injured.
The second aircraft landed safely, but the windscreen was damaged. Queensland Ambulance supervisor Jayney Shearman said another six patients were treated primarily for glass shrapnel wounds.
He said the “airframe has crashed and it was upside down”, and its front was severely damaged.
The helicopter had no nose and no windscreen, after both were blasted off in the moment of impact.
Those below the crash could only cower as the blade from the first helicopter speared into the sand.
Holidaymakers then became rescuers.
People on jet skis and in boats rushed to help the victims at the small sandbank before paramedics and police arrived on the scene.
They were confronted with a “significant incident”, Queensland Police Acting Inspector Gary Worrell said.
Footage has since emerged of the two helicopters flying towards each other before they clip and one crashes into the sandbank below. 7NEWS.com.au has chosen not to publish it.
Members of the public rendered immediate assistance, working alongside police to remove people - including at least one child - from the wreckage as it burst into flames.
They commenced first aid and tried to get those people to safety from the airframe that was upside down, Worrell said.
Jayney Shearman from QAS said they attended to 13 people from both helicopters.
“There were three critical patients that were treated and there were six with minor injuries that were all transported through to hospital,” she said.
“The minor injuries were mainly glass shrapnel that had come from the impact.”
Shearman said there were a number of critical injuries, “what we call multi-system trauma which means that there was a lot of impact to the body”.
In the initial stages, she said, it was very important to have some basic life support which was being conducted by first-aiders.
Two people, a woman and a child were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital while another child was airlifted to Queensland Children’s Hospital.
Six other people are at Robina Hospital being assessed in the emergency department and it is understood some may be eventually transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital.
Sea World responds
The popular Gold Coast theme park was rocked by the tragedy, expressing shock and deepest sympathy in a statement.
“We and the entire flying community are devastated by what has happened and our sincere condolences go to all those involved and especially the loved ones and family of the deceased,” a spokesperson for Sea World Helicopters said.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said an investigation into the fatal mid-air collision had begun.
Investigators from Brisbane and Canberra will examine the wreckage and map the accident site, as well as gather any available recorded data for analysis and interview witnesses and other involved parties.
“Transport safety investigators with experience in helicopter operations, maintenance and survivability engineering are deploying from the ATSB’s Brisbane and Canberra offices,” he said on Monday hours after crash.
“We and the entire flying community are devastated by what has happened and our sincere condolences go to all those involved and especially the loved ones and family of the deceased,” a spokesperson for Sea World Helicopters said.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW: Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell details how the investigation will unfold.
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Authorities are asking anyone who filmed the incident or saw it to come forward to help them piece together what went so horribly wrong as they prepare a report for the coroner.
It will be weeks, months, before we have any of the answers as to exactly how this happened.
While investigations into the tragedy continue, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also offered her condolences to all involved.
“What has happened on the Gold Coast today is an unthinkable tragedy,” she tweeted.
“My deepest sympathies are with each of the families and everyone affected by this terrible accident.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was shocked by the terrible and tragic incident on the Gold Coast.
“My thoughts are with all those affected, including first responders, and my deepest sympathies are with those who are grieving,” he tweeted.
- With AAP
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2023-01-04 06:52:00Z
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