An official military inquiry into a fatal helicopter crash during war games has ruled out mechanical failure as a factor in the accident, despite the Albanese government retiring the fleet of Taipan choppers early and refusing requests to donate them to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
The Aviation Safety Investigation into the July 2023 MRH-90 Taipan helicopter accident, released on Wednesday, concluded the crash was mostly caused by “unrecognised spatial disorientation” – essentially when a pilot misperceives the orientation, or position, of their aircraft while flying.
