Inquest Hears Pilot Likely Impaired in Gold Coast Crash

A coroner's inquest in Brisbane has heard evidence suggesting that a pilot involved in a midair helicopter collision on Australia's Gold Coast was likely impaired by cocaine withdrawal, an alcohol hangover, and fatigue at the time of the crash, which killed four people including a British couple on holiday.

The incident occurred on January 2, 2023, near Sea World in Queensland around 2 p.m. local time. Diane Hughes, 57, and her husband Ron Hughes, 65, from Neston on the Wirral Peninsula in England, were among the victims. The couple, married for just 18 months, had traveled to Australia to visit relatives. Their helicopter, piloted by Ashley Jenkinson, collided with another Sea World aircraft 25 seconds after takeoff, as the second helicopter was descending toward the theme park's waterside helipad. Jenkinson, a Sea World pilot, also died in the crash, along with Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36. Three other passengers on the crashed helicopter suffered critical injuries.

The other helicopter managed a safe landing on a nearby sandbank, with five of its six passengers sustaining only minor injuries. The collision happened as one aircraft was ascending for a scenic joy flight and...