The pilot of a helicopter that crashed and killed a British couple in Australia had cocaine in his system, a report has discovered.
Ron Hughes, 65, and his spouse Diane, 57, had been on a sightseeing journey close to Sea World in Queensland when their helicopter crashed midair with one other on 2 January 2023.
The couple from Cheshire died on the scene, as did fellow passenger Vanessa Tadros, 36, from New South Wales, and pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40.
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Emergency crews had been on the scene the place one of many helicopters was the wrong way up on the bottom
A 12 months on from the accident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an interim report that notes a toxicology report for Mr Jenkinson exhibits a constructive consequence for cocaine metabolites.
However, the report concludes that the “very low concentrations” means it was “unlikely” that this may have impaired his flying capability.
Chief commissioner Angus Mitchell mentioned the metabolite ranges counsel “exposure was not likely to have occurred in the 24 hours prior to the accident”.
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Pilot Ashley Jenkinson had “very low” ranges of cocaine metabolites in his system Pic: Ritchie Gregg
He added: “It is important to note while this is a substantive and comprehensive interim report, the ATSB is yet to make formal findings as to the contributing factors that led to this accident as we are continuing our analysis of that evidence.”
Mr Jenkinson’s household has welcomed the interim report, based on native media, however requested those that knew him to not let it “tarnish the memory” of the pilot.
The aftermath of a helicopter collision on the Gold Coast
They are additionally urging folks to learn the total report which discovered “multiple contributing factors to this terrible accident”.
The ATSB investigation has additionally discovered a number of the passengers’ seatbelts weren’t fitted accurately, partly because of “interference from their lifejackets”.
Mr Mitchell mentioned this was “not attributed to the tragic outcomes in this case”.
The crash noticed two Eurocopter EC130 helicopters collide midair as one was on method to land and one other had simply taken off from a separate helipad.
Content Source: information.sky.com