Hope for survivors ‘lost’, says Marles amid push for release of safety documents after Whitsundays Taipan crash

The prospect of finding four military officers who went down in a “notoriously unreliable” helicopter alive is “lost” says Defence Minister, refusing to comment on future of the Taipan fleet.

All hope of finding four army aircrew members alive after their helicopter crashed off the coast of Queensland is now “lost,” as authorities vow an investigation will scrutinise every aspect of the “catastrophic incident”.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed the search-and-rescue mission launched in the waters around the Whitsunday Islands on Friday night has switched to a recovery operation following the discovery of “significant” wreckage from the MRH-90 helicopter.

Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock, Corporal Alex Naggs and Captain Dan Lyon were taking part in the Talisman Sabre military exercise when their helicopter – also known as a Taipan – pitched into the ocean.

The troubled Taipan fleet has been grounded pending an investigation into the incident, which Mr Marles said would discover “exactly what has happened” and “what lessons we need to learn from this”.

Mr Marles would not comment on whether the Taipans would ever fly again and warned against “harmful” speculation.

Missing men, from left, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock, Corporal Alex Naggs and Captain Dan Lyon. Pictures: Supplied

“We are all obviously left wondering, naturally, what happened,” he said.

“Foremost in our minds in this moment must be the families of these four men and their teammates. And with them in mind, idle speculation is obviously harmful.”

A barge lifts out the tail section of the chopper. Picture: Michaela Harlow

Mr Marles said he wanted to assure the families of the aircrew and the rest of the nation the recovery effort involving hundreds of Defence Force personnel would “continue”.

Only some parts of the helicopter have been recovered to date, with sonar discovering what is believed to be the bulk of the “airframe” an estimated 40 metres under water.

Specialist divers will investigate further, with authorities hopeful of recovering as much of the helicopter as possible to assist investigators.

Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell said the search for debris and the missing aviators was made difficult by the conditions.

Australian Defence Minster Richard Marles.

“It is an area of the waters around the Whitsunday Islands where there are strong currents and tidal movements,” he said.

“It is not an easy operation.”

General Campbell vowed the investigation into the crash would be “utterly thorough” and “consider all factors”.

“But we must not speculate, and we must not in any way influence or distort the presumptions of that investigation,” he said.

“It will have complete and full authority to review what has happened and identify the causes of this accident and make recommendations to ensure that it never again occurs.”

The Taipan fleet was due to be withdrawn from service from 2024, to be replaced by Black Hawk helicopters.

In March a Taipan helicopter carrying ten Defence Force personnel crashed in Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast during a late-night counter-terrorism training exercise.

All members survived that incident, however the crash further fuelled calls for the early withdrawal of the Taipan fleet from service.

CALL TO RELEASE SECRET SAFETY FILES

Meanwhile, the government will be pushed to produce safety documents relating to the “notoriously unreliable” Taipan that was involved in the devastating tragedy.

The MRH90, also known as a Taipan, was flying with four people on-board as part of the Exercise Talisman Sabre when it crashed into the water, south of Hamilton Island.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that NSW Senator David Shoebridge, who first raised alarm bells about the safety of the problematic aircraft in June during a scathing speech to parliament, will be moving to obtain secret documents about their safety previously refused by the government.

The Telegraph can also reveal Mr Shoebridge was given a private briefing by defence prior to the tragedy, the details of which he did not disclose, but after which he said he remained “deeply concerned” about the safety issues.

“We will be moving to obtain all the relevant documents held by Defence that they relied on to put these dangerous aircraft back in the air,” he said.”

“If this was a civilian air safety investigation this would already have happened because that‘s how you created a safety first culture. It should be no different in Defence.”

Senator David Shoebridge will renew the push for papers. Picture: Martin Ollman

The Senate first called for the papers relating to the MRH90 in May but the documents were refused on account of an ongoing internal review after a MRH90 crashed at Jervis Bay.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud said he would leave the determinations about the safety of the vehicles to the experts.

“The experts make those determinations about what’s safe and one of the best tools for our men and women to go and protect us in the uniform,” he said.

“So let’s just take a deep breath, let’s let that work through with some common sense and back whatever the experts tell us to do.”

An Australian Army MRH90 Taipan helicopter. Picture: Supplied

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said he “welcomed” the grounding of the Taipan fleet pending an investigation into the incident, which he noted was ”standard procedure”.

Asked if the helicopters should ever be flown again, or if the acquisition of Black Hawks to replace them should be sped up, Mr Dutton said he would leave discussion on that ”for another day”.

In June, Mr Shoebridge chillingly told parliament: “They are incredibly expensive, incredibly dangerous and they shouldn‘t be in the air with Australian service personnel.”

Mr Shoebridge said the planes cost $48,000 per hour to fly, a cost which was not justified given their dangerous history.

Originally published as Hope for survivors ‘lost’, says Marles amid push for release of safety documents after Whitsundays Taipan crash