Five dead in Victorian helicopter crash

Callum Godde | March 31, 2022

Five people have died after a helicopter crashed in mountainous Victorian terrain, in one of the state’s worst civil aviation disasters in decades.

Police confirmed four passengers and a pilot died at the scene after the aircraft crashed at Mount Disappointment about 9.30am on Thursday.

The five people on board included four men and one woman aged from 32 to 73. Three were from Victoria and two from NSW.

Their remains were found after ground crews battled steep terrain and dense forest to reach the wreckage of the helicopter near Blair’s Hut about 3.45pm. It was earlier spotted by the police air wing.

“The helicopter’s been destroyed and unfortunately there were no survivors,” acting inspector Josh Langelaan told reporters on Thursday night.

“It was a confronting scene. Until we actually located the remains on the five people, we remained hopeful that we might find somebody alive.”

The helicopter was one of two that left the Melbourne CBD in the morning, flying in convoy over Mt Disappointment on its way to Ulupna near the Victorian/NSW border.

The passengers were travelling to the border as part of a business trip, police said. There were no details shared on their relationship.

Mr Langelaan said there was low cloud over Mt Disappointment when one of the helicopter ran into trouble.

“One helicopter came through the cloud found the other one was missing and police were notified,” he said.

The second helicopter, also believed to be carrying four passengers and a pilot, later landed at Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne’s southeast.

The operator of the helicopters, Microflite, said the company would co-operate with an investigation into the cause of the crash.

“I extend my deepest condolences to all affected by this incident who we are supporting through this very difficult time,” Microflite executive general manager Rod Higgins said in a statement.

It is believed to be Victoria’s deadliest aviation disaster since February 2017, when five people were killed after a charter plane crashed into Melbourne’s Essendon DFO shopping centre.

At the time, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was the state’s worst civil aviation accident for 30 years.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will take over the investigation on Friday and is expected to remain on site for several days.

Bulldozers and an excavator have been called in to clear a path to the crash site.

Mt Disappointment was the scene of a major search operation in 2020 for autistic Victorian teenager William Callaghan, who was found alive after spending two nights missing in the bush.