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Finally..

Amber Millar’s parents blame CASA for daughter’s Broome chopper crash death with pilot Troy Thomas



The parents of a 12-year-old girl killed in a fatal Broome chopper crash claim the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has “blood on its hands” for dismissing complaints about dangerous behaviour involving the pilot’s helicopters a year before their daughter died.

Perth schoolgirl Amber Millar was fatally injured when a helicopter, owned and piloted by tourism stalwart Troy Thomas, crashed immediately after a high-powered vertical takeoff from an industrial area north of Broome in July 2020.

Her parents, Fiona and Clint Benbow, are calling for a royal commission into CASA after The Australian obtained documents through Freedom of Information that revealed the federal regulator knew about, and failed to act on, repeated reports of unsafe flying in Thomas’s choppers before the fatal crash.

“I am absolutely sickened to my core,” Mrs Benbow said.

“It is soul destroying to know that CASA did nothing with the evidence it had received about Troy Thomas and others except to turn a blind eye. We aren’t talking about ignoring hearsay or gossip. They had hard photographic and videographic evidence.

“If CASA is not going to act on information it receives about ­pilots and companies, why bother to have a regulator?”



Since Amber’s death, the Benbows have been asking CASA about Thomas’s aviation history and what it knew about the companies and individuals involved in the crash.

“This is the first time this important information has been brought to our attention and it is only coming to light as a result of FOI requests,” Mr Benbow said.

“It is incomprehensible, and frankly unbelievable, that CASA can claim that they were not aware of any of this when they were. If CASA had performed its duty properly, we are pretty damn certain that our beautiful Amber Jess would still be alive.”



The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report into the cause of the fatal Broome crash found that vibration in the tail rotor pedals led to an overstress fracture that caused the chopper’s mid-air break-up seconds after takeoff.

The ATSB’s report also stated that Thomas had demonstrated “a high-risk appetite”, a history of noncompliance with aviation laws, was unlicensed to fly the Robinson R44 and knew there was a serious issue with it before taking off on that final fatal flight.

On June 22, 2020, Bryce McGlashan, a pilot who worked for Thomas, reported feeling an unusual vibration in the tail rotor pedals, which can indicate impending failure of a critical component. Despite this, on July 2, Thomas took his friend Ashley Sutton on an 18-minute scenic flight over water, during which Thomas felt the vibrations himself.

The ATSB says that flight carried “risk of worsening of a condition or failure of a component”, without any option to quickly land.

During that flight, Thomas texted Mr McGlashan, confirming the helicopter had a problem.

On July 3, a team of aircraft maintenance engineers performed troubleshooting involving ground running of the chopper but could not identify the defect.

The engineers allegedly phoned Mr McGlashan and Thomas to tell the two pilots that a check flight must be performed, but it was not recorded on the aircraft’s it’s maintenance release.

“The safest next step (recommended by the helicopter manufacturer) was the conduct of a graduated flight check by a solo pilot,” the ATSB report said. “However, the next and final flight involved the conduct of a high-power towering takeoff from a confined area with 3 passengers on board.

“The unnecessary carriage of passengers resulted in a significantly more severe outcome following the in-flight break-up.”



During a grilling from West Australian senator Dean Smith about Amber’s death, CASA chief executive and director of aviation safety Pip Spence said CASA could not have known about Thomas’s behaviour or reputation.

The Benbows believe CASA has been placating them for the past three years “in the hope we will go away and not make a fuss about our daughter”.

“This is a very bitter pill to swallow and to be quite frank, we won’t,” Mrs Benbow said.

“CASA has our daughter’s blood on its hands.”