First, there’s more to ‘they’ than meets the eye:
And, the helicopter was stolen:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-12/far-north-queensland-cairns-helicopter-crash/104212296
In stories about people who identify as neither male nor female or ask not to be referred to as he/she/him/her: Use the person’s name in place of a pronoun, or otherwise reword the sentence, whenever possible. If they/them/their use is essential, explain in the text that the person prefers a gender-neutral pronoun.
*It* is *gender neutral*.
They did it right in your link:
“The pilot, who has not yet been identified, was alone in the helicopter and died at the scene.”
Just because the egghead twinks have suddenly discovered a use for the “singular they” that they have been trying to stamp out for the last 250 years does not mean we have to pretend that they are finally correct.
They have always been wrong, they were wrong when they tried to get rid of it, they are wrong now, trying to claim it for wokeness and they will always be wrong. History, common usage and the peasant mob are on our side.