When a devastated widower spoke about the devastating SeaWorld helicopter accident that killed his wife and put his kid in a coma, Allison Langdon started crying.
On January 2, at the Gold Coast, Simon Tadros described the last minute he spent with his wife Vanessa, 36, and son Nicholas, 10, before they boarded the tragic joy flight.
He added to the presenter of A Current Affair, “I simply gave them both a hug and a kiss and I said, “Enjoy it…have fun.”
I’ll see you when you descend again.
The devoted father said that his fear of heights prevented him from accompanying his children.
Mr. Tadros could only watch in horror as the aircraft crashed with another chopper in midair minutes later after hearing a “huge blast.”
Then it crashed into a sandbar, killing the pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, the British newlyweds Ron and Diane Hughes, 65, and Vanessa.
Nicholas, the son of the couple, was seriously injured in the collision and subsequently went into a coma.
But he has now awakened, and his condition is stable.
Weeks following the tragedy, Vanessa’s burial ceremony was conducted at St. John the Beloved Church in Mt. Druitt, Sydney.
In the midst of his emotional breakdown, Mr. Tadros remarked, “I lost my wife, to lose my kid as well…
He admitted to Langdon that his fear of heights was the main reason he wasn’t on the helicopter with his wife and kid.
Mr. Tadros said that his kid is a survivor who, despite facing challenges, would not “give up.”
The distraught father remembered saying to Nicholas in the hospital, “Let’s make mommy proud. I don’t want to leave you by alone.”
At one point, Langdon begins to choke up as she raises her hand to her chest.
She says to Mr. Tadros with tears in her eyes, “That poor little kid… still so frail.”
Nicholas suffered such severe injuries in the collision that he had six operations in one day and spent additional days on life support.
It has been found that the little boy’s injuries will cause him to lose his right foot.
Winnie de Silva, 33, and her 9-year-old son Leon are the other two helicopter survivors still in the hospital, both with serious wounds.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Queensland Police are investigating the collision, although a definitive determination of what caused it isn’t anticipated until 2024.
Flights by SeaWorld Helicopters have been put on hold until inquiries are made.
»Allison Langdon cries during SeaWorld helicopter incident interview«