The owner of the company involved in the mid-air collision that claimed the lives of four people on the Gold Coast has broken his silence.
Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ash Jenkinson, 40, was killed when his helicopter was struck by another helicopter descending to land above the water of Queensland‘s Gold Coast at about 2pm on Monday.
The father-of-one, as well as British newlyweds Ron, 65, and Diane Hughes, 57, and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, were killed in the horror crash.
Vanessa’s son Nicholas Tadros, 10, and mother-and-son Winnie and Leon de Silva, 9, were also onboard and were remain in hospital with critical injuries.
The other helicopter managed to land safely, but the windscreen was damaged. Terrifying footage from inside the chopper shows a passenger trying to warn the pilot of the oncoming aircraft just moments before the collision.
In a moving statement on Thursday, director and owner of Sea World Helicopters John Orr-Campbell said Mr Jenkinson was a ‘first-class pilot and a first-class man’.
‘I knew Ash personally for nine years. He was a fine man and a standout pilot with 6,210 hours of flying to his name,’ Mr Orr-Campbell wrote.
Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ash Jenkinson, 40, (pictured) was killed when his helicopter was struck by another helicopter descending to land above the water of Queensland ‘s Gold Coast at about 2pm on Monday
The helicopters collided on the Southport Broadwater at about 2pm on Monday
‘To lose a man and a pilot of Ash’s calibre is shocking in every sense of the word. I, along with all the staff at Sea World Helicopters are gutted to the core. My heart aches as I think of Ash’s fiancée Kosha and his one-year-old son Kayden.
‘I would also like to commend the other pilot, Michael James, who heroically got the second aircraft to the ground safely. We wish him well in his recovery.’
Mr Orr-Campbell revealed the experienced pilot had obtained his Commercial Pilots License in June, 2008 and flew choppers in Western Australia until 2011.
‘During this time Ash showed his love and commitment to community – he was involved in multiple search and rescue flights in the area,’ he said.
‘This community mindedness saw him dedicate over 700 hours and many days away from family and friends assisting in firefighting operations across Australia.’
Mr Jenkinson is survived by his fiancée Kosha (pictured right) and his one-year-old son Kayden
In an emotional statement on Thursday, Sea World Helicopters John Orr-Campbell (pictured) described Mr Jenkinson as a ‘first-class pilot and a first-class man’
In 2019, Mr Jenkinson became Chief Pilot of Sea World Helicopters and oversaw all aspects of safety and flight operations for the company.
‘We have lost a first-class pilot, a first-class man and a wonderful father, partner and friend,’ Mr Orr-Campbell wrote.
‘RIP Ash, you will forever be in our hearts.’
Dozens of the pilot’s loved ones have flooded his personal Facebook page with messages of love and support in the days following his death.
‘We used to talk about his job a lot, a job he absolutely loved which not only included rides for tourists but also he battled the intense bush fires a few years back and helped the flood victims,’ said one person.
‘I know that fun, positive, adventurous spirit of the legend that you are will live on through the lives of everyone that knew you,’ another wrote.
‘Ash was the most kind hearted and selfless man to walk the earth. The love he had for his beautiful family and friends was certainly one of a kind and this extended to anyone who would cross his path,’ a woman wrote.
A GoFundMe has raised more than $12,000 of its $15,000 goal to give $5,000 to each of the families impacted by the crash.
British couple Ron, 65, and Diane Hughes, 57 died when their helicopter collided with another chopper mid-air and plummeted 30 metres near the Sea World theme park
It is understood the helicopter taking off clipped another aircraft before nosediving into the sand and claiming the lives of four people
Organiser Ritchie Gregg said Mr Jenkinson had come to the aid of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers communities during the flood crisis.
‘This year he poured his heart into the Northern New South Wales flood relief work where he spent countless hours supplying and rescuing those in need that otherwise would have never have received any help,’ he wrote.
‘He also worked hard throughout the Australian bushfires and conducted numerous animal rescues. He is our hero and has a huge heart.’
It comes as terrifying footage has revealed the moment a passenger tried to warn pilot Michael James that Mr Jenkinson’s chopper was in a collision course with their aircraft just moments before the horror crash.
He can be seen pointing wildly out the window and tapping the pilot’s shoulder urgently before tightly gripping the seat in front of him as he braces for impact.
Moments later the helicopter cabin explodes in a shower of shattered glass and metal as the rotor blades of the other chopper slice through the cockpit.
The pilot and passengers are blasted by the shards of deadly debris but amazingly Mr James manages to keep control of the badly damaged aircraft and land nearby.
Now his grateful passengers say they owe him their life for his cool head and quick response in the face of unimaginable terror in a cockpit destroyed in the impact.
Two New Zeaand couples who were travelling together on board the aircraft – Riaan and Elmarie Steenberg and Marle and Edward Swart – have hailed the hero pilot
Winnie de Silva (left) has two broken legs, a broken right shoulder, a broken collarbone and a damaged left knee after the Sea World helicopter crash. Leon (right) has a fractured skull and is in an induced coma
Two couples from Auckland in New Zealand were on board the pleasure flight with another tourist from Western Australia when the accident occurred.
Four people in the second helicopter died in the crash when the rotor unit and gearbox were ripped off their aircraft, sending it plummeting upside down into the sandbar below.
Ms de Silva who was in the lower helicopter told the Herald Sun that she heard a ‘loud bang’ and felt ‘shaking’ when the two helicopters collided.
‘The only thing I could see was death in my eyes. I didn’t want to see death in my eyes so I closed them and held my son’s hand beside me,’ she said.
‘My feet and right arm were stuck. I remember screaming and yelling out for help… I wasn’t able to get out.’
