The desperate search for four men feared dead after a horror helicopter crash has shifted following reports that a “catastrophic failure” may have been at fault.
Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Captain Danniel Lyon, Corporal Alexander Naggs, and Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock were flying their MRH-90 Taipan when it went down on Friday in Queensland’s Whitsunday.
At the time of the crash, the men had been involved in training exercise under Talisman Sabre, an annual multinational war-games involving the United States, Australia, and 13 other nations.
The crash sparked a widespread manhunt as a second helicopter involved in the exercise immediately began searching for the missing men.
The search has since shifted to waters off the southern end of Dent Island and the vicinity around where the HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Brisbane warships are now located.
The Courier Mail reported on Monday that the search area was some distance from where crews had recovered the tail of the helicopter on Saturday. The wreckage was subsequently winched off of Denman Island.
Efforts were ramped up on Sunday after a submarine was deployed south of Dent Island to help with search efforts involving an array of marine vessels. Specialist divers seen combing through the water for any trace of the missing men or the aircraft.
At least two army helicopters, including an American-made Chinook, were seen flying overhead during the multi-agency search effort, with an 1000m exclusion zone set up around the military vessels.
The retrieval effort involving the Queensland Police and Marine Rescue has so far retrieved 50 pieces of debris from the water, according to the Courier Mail.
Search efforts were hampered by inclement conditions over the weekend, including huge tides, strong winds, and a tough current.
The tragedy involving four men from the 6th Aviation Regiment based out of Sydney’s Holworthy base triggered an outpouring of grief from Defence and civilian leaders on Monday.
Chief of the Australian Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart told the media outside of Holsworthy Army Barracks on Sunday that all men were part of the “highly skilled” regiment.
Lt Gen Stuart said the unit was used to support Australia Special Operations’ “set of missions”, and urged for the public to keep the families of the four men at the “front of their mind”.
Federal Member for Herbert and former 1RAR soldier Phillip Thompson confirmed he knew one of the men, Corporal Naggs, who served in the 1RAR in Townsville until 2017.
“We were both in the infantry. Naggs was in heavy weapons and he also serviced in rifle companies,” Mr Thompson said.
“I knew him, he was a mate.”
Leaders also faced questions about the future of the MRH-90 Taipan following the crash.
The European-backed Taipan fleet has been plagued by problems since first being purchased by the Howard Government in 2004, including multiple groundings after serious accidents.
The fleet was grounded temporarily earlier this year after an MRH-90 Taipan was ditched into water off of Jervis Bay during a night-time counter-terrorism training exercise.
Tasmanian independent and former Army Corporal Jacqui Lambie told Sunrise that it was “not appropriate” to begin talking about the Taipan’s issues until the four servicemen were “laid to rest”.
“This is the unfortunate thing: you are training for war all the time and we already know more incidents happen in Defence,” she said.
“You have to do risky things to prepare for war and sometimes the equipment just isn’t up to scratch either.
“I think we will hear a lot more about this in the next few weeks.”
The senator doubled down when later asked by Sky’s First Edition host Peter Stefanovic about initial investigations which he said pointed to a “catastrophic failure” during the flight.
“I think we’ve had rows about the future of the Taipan for sometime, and we’ll leave it for a couple of weeks in respect for the families and see what happens after that,” Ms Lambie said.
“There are questions that need to be asked, and we’ll get some answers”
Former-Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce acknowledged there had been “problems in the past” for the troubled Taipan helicopters, which were advised against by the National Audit Office in 2004.
“It (the Taipan) has been grounded in the past, so we have to make sure that this platform has a frame that is safe, and gives our servicemen and women the best chance,” he told the Today show.
On the same program, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the four men had worked with “bravery” and had contributed to the making the world “safer and more peaceful”.
“Our first focus is on finding the for missing personnel, and supporting their family,” she said.
“The next, very important question is what has gone wrong here? What has gone wrong mechanically.
“Of course, an investigation has to be thorough and complete in answers.”
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