The crash of VH-XWD on 31 March 2022, which killed all five people on board and was labelled “among the worst in Victoria’s history”, was a result of the pilot inadvertently flying into weather conditions that required instruments despite operating under visual flight rules (VFR).
However, an ATSB interim report into the incident concluded that the low concentrations of the drug suggested it would unlikely to have been an “impairment of his psychomotor skills”.
The Bell 204B firefighting helicopter, registered VH-EQW, was collecting water from a dam at Tarome in south-east Queensland on 20 September when it crashed, destroying it and causing minor injuries to the pilot.
Peter Carter, director of Carter Capner Law and former national president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said the incident should “sound alarm bells” for the safety regulator and that Wilson’s family may be entitled to compensation over the incident.
An investigation by the transport safety watchdog determined that the Robinson R44 VH-IDW, which was on a mission to collect crocodile eggs near the King River in February 2022, likely ran out of fuel while Wilson was in a sling line below the helicopter, causing the engine to stop.
The minister told ABC Radio in Perth this week that CASA “can’t be everywhere” in response to questions from host Nadia Mitsopoulos over whether the crash, which took the life of 12-year-old Amber Jess Millar (pictured), could have been prevented had CASA been more proactive.