A helicopter pilot involved in one of Australia\u2019s worst air disasters had a mental \u201cbreakdown\u201d and used cocaine the day before making tourist joy flights, a coroner has heard.<\/p>\n
Ashley Jenkinson, 40, was among four people who died when his Sea World chopper collided midair with another outside the Gold Coast theme park on 2 January 2023.<\/p>\n
Jenkinson\u2019s fiancee, Kosha Richardson-Johnson, told an inquest the pilot had a breakdown in 2022 and used cocaine at social events \u201cprobably six to eight times\u201d a year.<\/p>\n
She said he took a small bag of cocaine to a 2022 New Year\u2019s Eve party and saw him use the drug at 3am on 1 January, a day before the horror crash.<\/p>\n
The pilot took cocaine on days before taking tourists on joy flights for Sea World \u201ctwo or three times a year\u201d, Richardson-Johnson said via videolink.<\/p>\n
Jenkinson tested positive to cocaine during an autopsy, the coroner, Carol Lee, has heard, but an Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found he was \u201cunlikely to have been directly affected by the drug at the time of the accident\u201d.<\/p>\n
Asked by counsel assisting Ryan Nattrass about Jenkinson\u2019s \u201cbreakdown\u201d before Christmas 2022, Ms Richardson-Johnson said it came after conversations about him feeling stressed at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found him in the wardrobe crying. I said, \u2018What\u2019s wrong?\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when he had a breakdown. He said, \u2018You don\u2019t know what kind of pressure I\u2019m under\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenkinson had been working long hours to keep up with paperwork as Sea World\u2019s chief pilot and get new helicopters ready for the busy holiday period, Lee heard.<\/p>\n
Richardson-Johnson said she was concerned for Jenkinson\u2019s health but decided against asking his boss for a day off.<\/p>\n
There was never concern Jenkinson might have a cocaine addiction, she said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, two people testified that they saw Jenkinson inhale what they assumed was cocaine at the New Year\u2019s Eve party.<\/p>\n
No other Sea World Helicopters staff or pilots attended the party, Lee heard.<\/p>\n
Stephen Gill, an industrial oil salesman, said Jenkinson used cocaine numerous times a year and may have taken it in the early hours of 1 January, a day before the fatal crash.<\/p>\n
Gill testified he entered a shed at the party about 8pm and saw a \u201cwhite powder substance\u201d on a toolbox.<\/p>\n
Asked by counsel assisting Ryan Nattrass when had he seen the pilot use cocaine before, Gill said: \u201cFour or five times a year. Probably three or four lines throughout the night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gill saw the pilot last use cocaine at midnight on 1 January and could have taken it at 3am, coroner Carol Lee heard.<\/p>\n
Ross Meadows, a digital marketing company director, testified at the coronial inquiry in Brisbane on Tuesday that he had been \u201cbest mates\u201d with Jenkinson.<\/p>\n
He saw the pilot inhaling a white substance in the shed about 9pm at the 2022 party, Lee heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a white substance. I assumed it was cocaine,\u201d Meadows said.<\/p>\n
The pilot inhaled a single line of the substance, Lee heard, with Meadows remarking at the time: \u201cNothing good comes from that shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Jenkinson tested positive to cocaine during an autopsy, Ms Lee previously heard.<\/p>\n
He was \u201cunlikely to have been directly affected by the drug at the time of the accident\u201d, a previous Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found.<\/p>\n
Meadows said he had been taught by Jenkinson how to fly helicopters, describing him as a \u201cphenomenal pilot\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a very serious person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meadows did not think to report his mate to aviation authorities and did not speak to him about cocaine use, Lee heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was his own person. I\u2019m not responsible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jenkinson was killed along with British newlyweds Ronald and Diane Hughes \u2013 aged 65 and 67 \u2013 and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, in the crash.<\/p>\n
Under cross-examination from Tadros family barrister, Gerard Mullins KC, Meadows said he knew cocaine and flying did not mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn important part of a helicopter organisation targeting tourists is to promote themselves as a safe operator? Did it not occur to you to let them know of this illegal cocaine use?\u201d Mullins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Meadows said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa Tadros\u2019 son, Nicholas, was aged 10 when he lost his leg in the crash.<\/p>\n
He attended the inquest on Tuesday with his father Simon Tadros.<\/p>\n
Meadows\u2019 company had provided social media marketing for Sea World Helicopters, Lee heard.<\/p>\n
Sea World owner, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, sold its joy flights operation to Sea World Helicopters in 2019.<\/p>\n
The inquest is due to hear from Sea World Helicopters executives next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A helicopter pilot involved in one of Australia\u2019s worst air disasters had a mental \u201cbreakdown\u201d and used cocaine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-322851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}