Passenger recorded moment he tried to get pilot's attention to stop fatal crash
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Shocking video has revealed the final moments before two helicopters collided in Australia.
A British couple were among the four who died in Monday’s crash, which took place near Sea World on the Gold Coast.
One helicopter is believed to have been taking off and the other landing when they hit one another.
In footage shared from the descending helicopter, the camera can be seen panning across the scenery.
A passenger then reaches for the pilot as he looks straight ahead.
He doesn’t react, so she frantically taps his shoulder before he looks to the right.
As those inside the aircraft brace for impact, glass then shatters over the cockpit.
Riaan and Elmarie Steenberg and Marle and Edward Swart, from Auckland in New Zealand, were in the helicopter alongside the pilot and an unnamed passenger.
7news reports that Ms Steenberg took to Facebook to confirm she was involved in the crash.
She wrote: ‘I am still in hospital in the Gold Coast, recovering from my injuries,” she said.
‘All I can say thank you to God for sparing all of us.’
The four people aboard the other helicopter involved – pilot Ash Jenkinson, 40, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and Sydney mum Vanessa Tadros, all died.
The 40-year-old pilot, who reportedly grew up in the West Midlands, was named as the third British victim.
He had worked as a chief pilot at Sea World Helicopters since 2019.
Ron and his wife Diane were from Merseyside and only married in 2021.
Three other passengers remain in hospital, including a 10-year-old boy, also from Glenmore Park, who is in a critical condition.
Mrs Hughes’ brother Dave Boyce wrote on Facebook: ‘For those who don’t know my sister and her husband were involved in the helicopter crash on the Gold Coast yesterday.
‘We would also like to thank you all for the love and support we have received. We are truly humbled at this heart-breaking time.’
One helicopter landed safely on a sandbank, but debris from the other was reportedly spread across an area described as difficult to access.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) confirmed it has commenced an investigation into the incident.
Chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said it was a ‘remarkable achievement’ there were not more deaths.
He said: ‘The second helicopter coming in to land has remarkably managed to land upright, and considering the damage that was done to the front left-hand section of that helicopter where the pilot was sitting, that’s a remarkable achievement.
‘Whilst it has been very tragic that four people have lost their lives and many families are in mourning, we could have had a far worse situation here and the fact that one helicopter managed to land has been quite remarkable.’
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