- Australian Military Grounds MRH-90 Taipan Helicopters After Accident
- Four Crew Members Missing in US-Australian Military Exercise Mishap
- Plans to Replace Taipan Helicopters with American-Made Black Hawks Announced
According to the army leader, the Australian military has grounded its entire helicopter fleet after an incident that left four crew members missing.
Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart said the army’s 45 MRH-90 Taipan helicopters would not fly again until they were safe.
Friday night, the accident occurred during a US-Australian military exercise off Lindeman Island.
Australia’s Taipans were previously suspended for safety reasons.
Sunday in Sydney, General Stuart told reporters, “We are not flying the MRH-90 today and will not until we deem it safe to do so.”
Friday night’s tragedy occurred above Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands at 22:30 local time (12:30 GMT).
The army has identified the missing personnel aboard the aircraft as Captain Daniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Private Alexander Naggs.
All belonged to the Sydney-based Sixth Aviation Regiment.
The helicopter crashed during Exercise Talisman Sabre, the greatest bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States.
Before the accident, Canberra had announced that it would replace its aging European-made Taipan helicopters with American-made Black Hawks.
Officials had complained about being forced to continually ground the fleet due to maintenance and safety concerns.
Due to an engine failure in one of the helicopters during a training exercise in March, the fleet was grounded and the crew was forced to abandon in the ocean off the coast of New South Wales.
The other MRH-90s resumed operations on April 6 with “risk mitigations” in place.
The current goal is to maintain the Taipans in service until 2024, according to Gen Stuart. But “what happens between now and then, based on what we learn from this incident, is unknown.”
The recent crash was a stark reminder, in the words of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, that “there are no safe or easy days for those who serve our country.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stated in Townsville, a northern city, that the United States would provide any assistance possible.
