Pilot Dead After Fiery Chopper Crash on Hotel Roof

A broken window and damaged rooftop is seen at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel after a helicopter crashed into its roof, in Cairns, Australia, on Aug.12, 2024. AAP Image/Brian Cassey

A pilot on an “unauthorised” flight has died in a fiery helicopter crash on a far north Queensland hotel roof.

An eyewitness has described how the twin-engine chopper flew around “really fast” before hitting Cairns’ DoubleTree by Hilton before 2 a.m. on Aug. 12 in a “massive explosion.”