A helicopter pilot was in the air for just four minutes before crashing the stolen aircraft into a waterfront hotel, injuring two guests and forcing hundreds to evacuate the burning building.
Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in the Far North Queensland city of Cairns at 1.50am on Monday.
Queensland Ambulance confirmed a helicopter ‘crashed into the roof of a hotel’ and nearly 400 people were evacuated from the building.
The pilot, a man aged in his 40s, was killed while an elderly couple who were staying in one of the rooms were rushed to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The man is believed to have been an employee of Nautilus Aviation – a private charter company which operates from seven bases across Northern Australia including Cairns, The Australian reported.
It is unclear whether the man was a current or former employee of Nautilus Aviation.
The Nautilus helicopter, a Robinson 44, was taken from the general aviation wing at the…