Chilling Sea World chopper footage shows ‘twist of fate’ that doomed passengers
Chilling Sea World chopper footage shows a "twist of fate" that claimed the life of four passengers when two helicopters conducting joy flights collided mid-air.
The video taken inside the cockpit of the helicopter show the final seconds of the flight near the theme park on the Gold Coast of Australia, which killed four people, including a couple and pilot from the UK.
Aviation experts have reviewed the footage to try to establish key moments that led to the tragedy, with one believing both helicopters were in each other's blindspots.
READ MORE: Two Brits killed after helicopters crashed into each other in tourist hotspot
The footage appears to show the rising helicopter may have been hidden from the surviving pilot's line of sight by the cockpit fuselage.
And the descending chopper, above and to the right, may have been obscured by the angle as it was above chief pilot Ash Jenkinson, who was on the far side of his aircraft with two passengers to his right.
It is believed the unusual detail in the seating on the two luxury helicopters could have played a role in the tragedy.
Both were configured so the pilot sits on the left hand side, and room for two passengers on the right – an unusual feature in helicopters.
"It's an extraordinary quirk of fate," industry veteran Geoffrey Thomas of AirlineRatings told Daily Mail Australia.
Ash Jenkinson, 40, mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Ron Hughes, 65, and his wife Diane, 57 from Wirral died in the crash.
Ms Tadros’ 10-year-old son Nicholas, Winnie de Silva, 33 and her nine-year-old son Leon are all being treated for their injuries in the hospital.
The video was shot in the second helicopter carrying Kiwi couples Riaan and Elmarie Steenberg and Marle and Edward Swart, plus a Western Australian tourist, and piloted by Michael James, 52.
It opens with a pan across the cockpit revealing Mr Jenkinson's Eurocopter 130 helicopter already in the air and frighteningly close by.
It is briefly seen rising up towards their chopper but Mr James appears oblivious to the danger, while looking off to the right.
"The other helicopter that's taken off is in a blind spot," said Mr Thomas.
"As he's turning, you can actually see the other helicopter. The passenger in the back can see the helicopter.
"But if you look at the pilot, part of the cockpit structure is masking that helicopter – and as he turns, it continues to mask the other aircraft.
"It's genuinely in his blind spot and stays there – so he was totally unsighted."
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