Survivors of Sea World Helicopters Crash That Killed 4 Recount Deadly Last Moments: ‘Things Started Falling on Our Faces’

Survivors of a deadly helicopter crash on Australia’s Gold Coast in January 2023 have shared what they remember from the flight’s final moments.

An inquest into the mid-air collision between two Sea World helicopters opened on Monday, Nov. 24. Survivors testified about what happened in the air and in the chaotic seconds after impact, according to news.com.au, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and The Australian. Four people were killed and eight others were hospitalized, three of them critically.

The collision happened about 130 feet above the water on Jan. 2, 2023, when one Sea World helicopter was taking off as another was coming in to land, per ABC and news.com.au.

Chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, Vanessa Tadros, 36, and British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 67, died in the crash, The Guardian reported.

The pilot of the second helicopter, Michael James, managed to land his aircraft safely nearby, according to ABC.

Winnie De Silva, who was aboard Jenkinson’s helicopter with her son, told Queensland Coroners Court they booked the ride spontaneously while visiting Sea World.

“Once I heard the bang, and shaking started happening, and things started falling on our faces, that’s when I realized we weren’t going to be safe … the shaking was just terrible,” De Silva said, per ABC. She added that she hadn’t seen the other helicopter before the impact.

“When it started shaking, I was so worried, I was holding my son,” she told the court. “It was steaming in a way that was so uncomfortable, I just remember closing my eyes and telling my son to do the same.”

De Silva said she later came to and realized she was pinned under wreckage.

“There was hot [machinery] on my body, and I was screaming for help,” she said, adding that her shoulder remains injured from being trapped.

Acting Senior Sergeant Justin Dunn from Gold Coast Water Police testified that De Silva was found amid intense heat and danger, with aviation fuel spilling over the crash area, news.com.au reported.

Another passenger, Jessie Maya, was riding in the helicopter piloted by James. He told the court he was “in shock” and that the moments after the crash are mostly a blur.

“It was a big blur for me, once the collision hit, I really don’t know much … I don’t know how I got out of the helicopter,” Maya said, according to ABC.

Maya had been filming during the flight, and part of his footage was played in court. The video shows Jenkinson’s helicopter approaching slightly below their aircraft before the collision.

Separate footage published by The Guardian, recorded by passenger Riaan Steenburg, captures people inside the VH-XH9 helicopter reacting as they notice the other aircraft and try to alert James. The recording cuts out at the instant the helicopters strike and the glass shatters. Jurors also viewed CCTV showing Jenkinson’s helicopter plunging toward the water, per ABC.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Ian Harvey, framed the central mystery for the court: “The fundamental question is how could that situation unfold between two highly experienced pilots?”

A preliminary 2023 report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that James did not hear Jenkinson’s radio call announcing takeoff. A later ATSB report released in April concluded that a faulty radio antenna contributed to the crash and left the pilots with “limited opportunities” to detect each other in time, per the outlet.