By Lucy Loram for ABC News
Four people were killed when two Sea World Helicopters crashed near the popular theme park in January 2023 Photo: AFP PHOTO / ABC
A former Sea World Helicopters employee told a Queensland court about her last interactions with a pilot killed in a deadly 2023 helicopter crash.
Several Sea World Helicopters employees will take the stand on the second day of a coronial inquest into the fatal helicopter accident that claimed the lives of four people on the Gold Coast.
Chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson, UK tourists Ronald and Diane Hughes and New South Wales tourist Vanessa Tadros, who was on board with her son, were killed when two Sea World Helicopters crashed near the popular theme park in January 2023.
Jenkinson was taking a chopper full of tourists for a joy flight over the Gold Coast when they collided mid-air with another Sea World helicopter piloted by Michael James.
Over the next two weeks, Coroner Carol Lee will be tasked with finding whether factors like pilot training and passenger safety briefings were adequate.
On Tuesday, former Sea World Helicopters employee Grace Hickey told the court she loaded passengers onto the aircraft piloted by Jenkinson on 2 January.
Sea World Helicopters pilot Ashley Jenkinson Photo: Supplied/ Facebook: Sea World Helicopters
Hickey recalled having lunch with Jenkinson before the fatal flight.
"He was fine, there was nothing out of the ordinary," she told the court.
"He wasn't down in the dumps; it was another day in the office. He actually sat down [with] us in the staff room [instead of his] office, which was nice."
Hickey went on to recount her responsibilities as a member of the ground staff, which included surveying the sky, land, and water for other vessels before the flight took off.
"If there was an incoming helicopter you would hold. On this day I did that, but I didn't see anything. So, I thumbed up," Hickey told the court.
Lawyer for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau Patrick Hornby asked Hickey if the pilot took off once she had given the thumbs-up signal.
Hickey replied: "Yes, but I don't remember how long," before saying it was common for pilots to talk to the passengers before taking off.
The court also heard the passengers on board the aircraft piloted by Jenkinson could adjust their seatbelts once the doors were closed.
"Every time I put passengers in [the] aircraft, I would do it really tight," Hickey told the court.
"After the doors close, I can't control what happens to the seat belt afterwards."
Before leaving the court room in tears, Hickey told the court, "I did a lot of blaming myself for it, even though there was nothing I could have done."
Pilot training questioned
Former Sea World Helicopters pilot Jesse Wacker told the inquest the EC-130 aircraft that Jenkinson was flying during the crash had the pilot seated on the left-hand side of the aircraft.
The inquest heard these aircraft were new to the Sea World Helicopters fleet, where pilots typically flew helicopters that were right-hand seated.
"It just feels different," Wacker told the court.
Counsel Assisting Ian Harvey asked Wacker whether there had been "any discussion around lines of sight due to different geometry of the aircraft".
He said there had not, and also told the court pilots were not specifically trained in flying from the left-hand side.
Wacker told the inquest the airspace where the joy-flights were held was "the most busy" around the time of year the collision happened, with several radio transmitted calls per minute between pilots.
He told the inquest calls could sometimes get "stepped on" if they came through the radio at the same time as another, meaning some calls would be "unreadable."
The inquest continues on Wednesday.
- ABC
