|
|
|
|
|
4 August 2023
|
Australian Defence Force MRH90 Taipan helicopter crashed the northern Queensland coast; crew still missing
|
|
|
An army helicopter that crashed off the northern Queensland coast leaving four aircrew missing has a troubled history that is plagued by mechanical issues. The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed during a military training exercise ie Talisman-Sabre exercise, in waters off Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands, near Lindeman Island, prompting the grounding of the fleet and a search and rescue operation.
The MRH90 Taipan crashed into the ocean south of Hamilton Island during a night-time training exercise on Friday, 28 July 2023. Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were onboard.
More than 800 military and emergency services personnel widened their search on Monday, 31 July 2023, for the four missing from the MRH-90 Taipan that went down off Hamilton Island while taking part in a joint Australia-US military exercise on Friday.
Specialist navy divers have been called in to locate the helicopter cabin where the men may have been trapped.
Australian Defence Force Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said the search would continue but had been hampered by poor conditions “both underwater and above the surface”, with the weather expected to remain “challenging” until the middle of next week.
He said progress was slow and “methodical” but Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Reliant would soon join the operation. “ADV Reliant is a vessel that incorporates more modern equipment that helps us to do that sort of recovery operation but it will still be a difficult operation at 40m of depth. It is important to collect as much of the debris as we can so we can fully understand how this incident occurred”, he said.
LG Bilton said dive teams had been in the area since Friday. He said there were enough divers to “continue the mission and sustain it for the coming days and weeks”.
On Thursday, Lieutenant General Bilton said unidentified human remains had been found but positive identification was unlikely to happen until more of the wreckage had been located. He said a remotely operated underwater vehicle had located a debris field that included parts of the cockpit about 40 metres below the surface.
Lieutenant General Bilton said the debris was "consistent with a catastrophic, high impact [crash]". He said all communications were "normal" before the aircraft hit the water.
Black box of MRH-90 Taipan found
The black box of a crashed Australian Army helicopter has been found a week and a half after it ditched into the sea with four crew onboard in Queensland's Whitsundays.
A Royal Australian Navy dive team recovered the voice and flight data recorder, the black box; from the wreckage on Monday, the Department of Defence said.
In a statement, the department said the recovery "remains a complicated and difficult operation". "Defence's priority remains the recovery of our soldiers and returning them to their families," it said. "Defence remains in close contact with the families and is updating them on the operation as new details become available."
The Queensland Coroner has released the recovered wreckage and black box to Defence for its investigation.
Taipan fleet grounded
The Taipan fleet has been grounded since the crash. The transition to Black Hawkes has begun, with the ABC confirming two of the American-made helicopters had landed in Sydney two days after it happened.
Asked how many Blackhawks were currently in Australia and how many pilots were certified to fly them, Lieutenant General Bilton said he was unable to give a "specific answer yet". "We're still working through the plan on how we'll work that capability," he said.
He said a decision on the future of the MRH90s could not be made before there was an outcome to the crash investigation. The MRH90s, which have had a troubled history, were due to come out of service at the end of this year.
It is the second time this year the fleet has been grounded following an accident after a Taipan went down off the NSW South Coast in March during a routine training exercise. Witnesses reported a 'big flash, a big bang and a bit of fire on top of the chopper' before the aircraft hit the water. Thankfully the 10 soldiers onboard were rescued and had only minor injuries.
In 2019 the $3.8bn MRH-90 Taipan fleet was grounded because of dangerous tail vibrations and problems with auxiliary power units that made it difficult to shut down main engines.
Since 2019 the choppers have been grounded five times due to mechanical issues. There are also design flaws with parliament being told in 2020 the door on the helicopter was too narrow for troops to fire from while the craft was landing. These problems led then-defence minister Peter Dutton to decide in late 2021 the Taipans should be scrapped in December 2024, 13 years earlier than originally planned.
While the first of the $2,8billion 40 replacement Blackhawk helicopters is set to arrive in just days, permanently grounding the Taipans would leave Australia short of military helicopters until the full consignment arrives.
Sources: Australian Defence Force, ABC News, Daily Mail, NBC News
The MRH90 Taipan crashed into the ocean south of Hamilton Island during a night-time training exercise on Friday, 28 July 2023. Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were onboard.
More than 800 military and emergency services personnel widened their search on Monday, 31 July 2023, for the four missing from the MRH-90 Taipan that went down off Hamilton Island while taking part in a joint Australia-US military exercise on Friday.
Specialist navy divers have been called in to locate the helicopter cabin where the men may have been trapped.
Australian Defence Force Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said the search would continue but had been hampered by poor conditions “both underwater and above the surface”, with the weather expected to remain “challenging” until the middle of next week.
He said progress was slow and “methodical” but Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Reliant would soon join the operation. “ADV Reliant is a vessel that incorporates more modern equipment that helps us to do that sort of recovery operation but it will still be a difficult operation at 40m of depth. It is important to collect as much of the debris as we can so we can fully understand how this incident occurred”, he said.
LG Bilton said dive teams had been in the area since Friday. He said there were enough divers to “continue the mission and sustain it for the coming days and weeks”.
On Thursday, Lieutenant General Bilton said unidentified human remains had been found but positive identification was unlikely to happen until more of the wreckage had been located. He said a remotely operated underwater vehicle had located a debris field that included parts of the cockpit about 40 metres below the surface.
Lieutenant General Bilton said the debris was "consistent with a catastrophic, high impact [crash]". He said all communications were "normal" before the aircraft hit the water.
Black box of MRH-90 Taipan found
The black box of a crashed Australian Army helicopter has been found a week and a half after it ditched into the sea with four crew onboard in Queensland's Whitsundays.
A Royal Australian Navy dive team recovered the voice and flight data recorder, the black box; from the wreckage on Monday, the Department of Defence said.
In a statement, the department said the recovery "remains a complicated and difficult operation". "Defence's priority remains the recovery of our soldiers and returning them to their families," it said. "Defence remains in close contact with the families and is updating them on the operation as new details become available."
The Queensland Coroner has released the recovered wreckage and black box to Defence for its investigation.
Taipan fleet grounded
The Taipan fleet has been grounded since the crash. The transition to Black Hawkes has begun, with the ABC confirming two of the American-made helicopters had landed in Sydney two days after it happened.
Asked how many Blackhawks were currently in Australia and how many pilots were certified to fly them, Lieutenant General Bilton said he was unable to give a "specific answer yet". "We're still working through the plan on how we'll work that capability," he said.
He said a decision on the future of the MRH90s could not be made before there was an outcome to the crash investigation. The MRH90s, which have had a troubled history, were due to come out of service at the end of this year.
It is the second time this year the fleet has been grounded following an accident after a Taipan went down off the NSW South Coast in March during a routine training exercise. Witnesses reported a 'big flash, a big bang and a bit of fire on top of the chopper' before the aircraft hit the water. Thankfully the 10 soldiers onboard were rescued and had only minor injuries.
In 2019 the $3.8bn MRH-90 Taipan fleet was grounded because of dangerous tail vibrations and problems with auxiliary power units that made it difficult to shut down main engines.
Since 2019 the choppers have been grounded five times due to mechanical issues. There are also design flaws with parliament being told in 2020 the door on the helicopter was too narrow for troops to fire from while the craft was landing. These problems led then-defence minister Peter Dutton to decide in late 2021 the Taipans should be scrapped in December 2024, 13 years earlier than originally planned.
While the first of the $2,8billion 40 replacement Blackhawk helicopters is set to arrive in just days, permanently grounding the Taipans would leave Australia short of military helicopters until the full consignment arrives.
Sources: Australian Defence Force, ABC News, Daily Mail, NBC News
