Man dies after fall from chopper near Derby, WA
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Man dies after fall from chopper near Derby, WA
A man died after he fell about 150m from a helicopter during a scenic flight over the West Kimberley yesterday.
The man, believed to be in his 60s, booked the scenic flight with a Derby-based tourism company earlier in the day.
Insp. David Picton-King said the man jumped from the aircraft while south of Derby near the Willare Bridge Roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway about 1.30pm.
He said the pilot conducted a search of the area after the man jumped from the tourism charter helicopter but had no success.
Police and emergency services were advised and after a brief ground and aerial search involving police, local residents and the helicopter, the man's body was found.
"The pilot has reported that as he flew at about 500ft altitude, the man suddenly unfastened his seatbelt, opened the passenger door and jumped from the aircraft," Insp. Picton-King said.
"Derby police and detectives are conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident."
Insp. Picton-King said police believed the death was a suicide but they would investigate all possible circumstances for the coroner.
If you or someone you know is depressed or thinking of suicide, phone Lifeline 13 11 14.
Unbelievable......
The man, believed to be in his 60s, booked the scenic flight with a Derby-based tourism company earlier in the day.
Insp. David Picton-King said the man jumped from the aircraft while south of Derby near the Willare Bridge Roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway about 1.30pm.
He said the pilot conducted a search of the area after the man jumped from the tourism charter helicopter but had no success.
Police and emergency services were advised and after a brief ground and aerial search involving police, local residents and the helicopter, the man's body was found.
"The pilot has reported that as he flew at about 500ft altitude, the man suddenly unfastened his seatbelt, opened the passenger door and jumped from the aircraft," Insp. Picton-King said.
"Derby police and detectives are conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident."
Insp. Picton-King said police believed the death was a suicide but they would investigate all possible circumstances for the coroner.
If you or someone you know is depressed or thinking of suicide, phone Lifeline 13 11 14.
Unbelievable......
That poor bugger has to live with that for the rest of his life....
I'd imagine as the Pilot it would have been one of the most difficult flights to continue and complete.
Hats off, and my heart goes out to him.
Lets hope the regulator don't put undue pressure on him.
Hats off, and my heart goes out to him.
Lets hope the regulator don't put undue pressure on him.
I honestly wonder if these people stop to think what grief is going to be caused to those that are left to deal with their selfish acts. And before anyone jumps down my throat for that comment I do know what it is like as my father-in-law took a shotgun out into the back yard & done away with himself back in 1991.
DF.
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How awful 
. Well done to the pilot for getting everyone else down safely.
DF and Hempy; likewise trains. There's always a person driving the train. Howver, it's hard to blame someone when their mind is so disordered. They wouldn't have been thinking straight.
beyondblue: the national depression initiative
. Well done to the pilot for getting everyone else down safely. DF and Hempy; likewise trains. There's always a person driving the train. Howver, it's hard to blame someone when their mind is so disordered. They wouldn't have been thinking straight.
beyondblue: the national depression initiative
No one in their right mind would do what that guy did. I don't know anything about him, but I can say with a lot of insight that this must be very bewildering and sad for his family. Hats off, indeed, to the pilot.
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I honestly wonder if these people stop to think what grief is going to be caused to those that are left to deal with their selfish acts
Those that go to these lengths do so because they see it as the only way to end the suffering that they are going through. They die as the result of an illness no different than had they had heart disease or cancer. Mental illness is still not accepted by many in the community as a legitimate disease, which is most unfortunate, because that very fact is one of the drivers for people not admitting they have a problem, and for them to seek the necessary help.
Take a moment to think of the depths of despair that an individual must be in to even contemplate taking their life, let alone following through and actually carrying it out.
There is nothing selfish about the act, I think such feelings are akin to survivor guilt. The survivors seek some reason to absolve themselves from being in some way responsible, which is of course misplaced. The end result is your father in law, such is the stigma attached.
I live in a small town and suicide I'm afraid is all too common, from teenagers to adults.
Some facts
Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for men under 44 and women under 34. The most recent Australian data (ABS, Causes of Death, 2009) reports deaths due to suicide at 2,132. That equates to 6 deaths by suicide a day, or one every four hours.
For every completed suicide it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempt.
That’s 180 attempts per day
That’s more than one new attempt in Australia, every 10 minutes
It is estimated that 249 people make a suicide plan everyday
It is estimated that as many as 1014 people think about suicide every day
Last edited by Brian Abraham; 23rd Oct 2012 at 14:13.
Well said, Brian. Although it is a disproportionate cause of death in young people, it is actually post retirement-age males who are generally most at risk. If you even think for a second someone is not quite acting themselves, say something nice to them. If you are really worried, do your best to address the issue, as this case goes to show, when older fellas go down this path they don't do it by half measures (suicide attempts are much higher amongst women, suicide completions are much higher amongst males, particularly older ones).
My father-in-law's suicide was more an act of sheer desperation. He had incurable cancer, & begged the doctors to end his suffering. Of course they aren't allowed to do that, & so rather than suffer any more he chose the only way out of it he knew. It still meant that someone had to find him though (it wasn't me), & you can imagine the trauma that person suffered as a result.
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you can imagine the trauma that person suffered as a result
