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PILOT MYSTERY
Chilling new details on Hilton ‘stolen’ helicopter crash that killed pilot as cops probe ‘shadowy figure’ seen on CCTV
The footage shows the man taking the craft
COPS are probing a shadowy figure on CCTV as they try and identify the man who stole a helicopter and crashed it into a hotel.
The tourist chopper smashed into the roof of the luxury Hilton hotel in Cairns leaving an inferno blazing on top of the building.
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The 40-year-old pilot, who was the only occupant, died in the shock crash.
Queensland cops are now viewing the "very dark" footage of the theft at the airport it was stolen from, The Australian reported.
Two elderly guests were taken to hospital in a stable condition from smoke inhilation.
The crash at the Double Tree Hotel happened at around 1.50am Monday local time.
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The hotel told The Sun there is no landing pad on the roof and they were finding alternative accommodation for the guests.
Acting Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Shane Holmes said it was unknown whether the crash was deliberate or an accident.
But, Holmes said it was thought to be an "isolated incident" and he was not sure whether the pilot had a licence or not.
The helicopter had been moved out of a hanger early in the morning, with police now probing how it was taken.
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They have not confirmed the man's identity.
Nautilus Aviation, who owned the craft, said the pilot wasn't theirs and its use had been "unauthorised".
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They said: "Nautilus Aviation are working closely with Queensland Police, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities as they investigate the unauthorised use of one of our helicopters in the early hours of this morning.
"As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time."
Chief executive Aaron Finn was not able to rule out if someone else had taken the helicopter for a joyride.
He told The Australian: "We have quite a lot of staff in the organisation.
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We can't identify (the person responsible) from CCTV footage, it's very dark."
All 400 people in the hotel were evacuated with any fuel lying around having the "potential to explode".
Witnesses described a red helicopter flying away from the hotel and then flying back "straight into the building".
A piece of the helicopter lay on the berm outside the building as residents gathered near it during the evacuation.
Queensland Ambulance Service Far Northern Region senior operations supervisor Caitlin Dennings said residents described hearing a crash that sounded like a bomb.
She said: "Unfortunately it is quite frightening to hear.
"There's reports that it sounded like a bomb and seeing fire and smoke from that.
"A lot of the occupants of the hotel were very unsure about the situation at the time."
She added: "The helicopter impacted the roof of the hotel however two propellors have dislodged from the helicopter landing on the Cairns esplanade.
"There was a second propellor located in the hotel pool on the bottom floor."
One person walking by on the street immediately after the crash described the scene as "madness".
The clips showed red fire lighting up the top of the building against the dark night.
A siren wailed to evacuate residents of the eight story building.
She said: "It's smashed right in."
"Boy that was going fast the helicopter too... a red helicopter... it went past twice.
"It was just going out of control that thing was."
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A small fire could also be seen on the ground level of the hotel below where the chopper had landed.
Queensland Police said the helicopter crash caused them to put in an exclusion zone to keep the public away from the aviation crash.
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