Families of Taipan victims say they’re disappointed with the investigation

The partner of an airman killed in an MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash has revealed how difficult it was in the days after the fatal incident.

The partner of one of the airmen killed in the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash has told an inquiry she only received a phone call to inform her about the missing aircraft after defence personnel knocked on the wrong front door.

Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were killed when their MRH-90 Taipan helicopter ditched into the ocean south of Hamilton Island on July 28 last year.

Corporal Naggs’ partner Sarah Loft said she’d answered a phone call on the morning of July 29 from defence personnel telling her a rescue mission was underway.

“Normal protocol was a knock at the door … I thought it was a prank until he kept talking and then I realised it was real,” Ms Loft said.

She said had not been given the news in person because the Australian Defence Force had gotten her address wrong.

The inquiry heard the couple moved into new defence housing in Sydney only three weeks before the crash but Corporal Naggs hadn’t updated his new home address with the army.

“Thank God (the serving officer) was the one who answered the door. I cannot imagine the unnecessary stress that would have had on a partner of someone who was serving to find out it wasn’t for you,” Ms Loft said.

Australian Army Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent was killed during the training mission. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Supplied by the Department of Defence

Australian Army soldier Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock was a part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. Picture: Supplied/ADF

An independent inquiry into the fatal incident, headed up by former judge Margaret McMurdo, continued on Tuesday in Brisbane.

The nocturnal training mission, which was part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, had planned for the aircraft, with the call sign Bushman 83, to be flying in formation with three other helicopters about 10pm to Lindeman Island in Queensland.

During the training mission, the aircraft was seen climbing suddenly before pitching nose-down towards the water where it crashed and splintered on impact.

The entire Taipan fleet has since been retired early.

Australian Army officer Captain Danniel Lyon was also on-board.

Corporal Alexander Naggs also died in the Taipan crash. Picture: Supplied

Ms Loft said the following days after the incident were “cruel” as it seemed the media were reporting the officers had died but Defence was telling the families it was a still a rescue mission and not a recovery mission.

“They knew that it was a violent crash and they were gone and we were told for three days that they were missing,” she said.

“You knew they weren’t coming home but you had to have hope.

“I just want to reinforce how cruel it was that they knew they were gone and we were forced to endure another three days.

“It was plastered all over the news.”

Sarah Loft, whose partner Corporal Alex Naggs died in the crash, told the inquiry she received a phone call about the missing aircraft. Picture David Clark / NCA NewsWire

Ms Loft said another disturbing aspect of those first few days after the crash was that ADF only communicated information with her directly because she was Corporal Nagg’s next of kin.
Ms Loft told the inquiry she eventually got permission to allow Corporal Nagg’s family receive vital updates but only if she was on the phone via speaker.

This meant Ms Loft had to listen to the same distressing information about Corporal Naggs and the search efforts on four different occasions, the inquiry heard.

“My welfare team were only to provide updates to me so the onus fell on me to provide this terrible information,” Ms Loft said.

“It’s horrific, I was already in a very delicate state. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat.

“I was in pure survival mode.

“I don’t understand why people can’t get the information directly.

“It’s so hard to pass on information … no person should deal with that burden by themself.

“It adds so much stress and strain.”

Sarah Loft and Chadine Whyte shared their experiences with the inquiry following the deaths of their partners Corporal Alex Naggs and Lieutenant Max Nugent. Picture David Clark / NCA NewsWire

Lieutenant Nugent’s partner Chadine Whyte told the inquiry she’d been on the opposite end of what Ms Loft experienced, having not been the next of kin.

Ms Whyte said Lieutenant Nugent’s father Daniel Nugent had been the only person receiving updates from defence which she felt wasn’t fair on him or the family.

“I don’t think the burden should be all on Dan Nugent to keep me informed,” she said.

“He’d just lost his son and I don’t think he should be burdened to keep me informed.”

Ms Whyte said because she was only classified as a de facto partner, she wasn’t allowed to have a support person in with her for one of the first of two official briefings she had with ADF.

She told the inquiry although she was provided with a support person, on one occasion that person was denied entry to the briefing to provide her the required support.

“I don’t have a family and Max was my family,” she said.

“It makes it incredibly more difficult to be in that position because your support person is not there.

“I feel as if support persons would have been appropriate, to be denied that is just another kick to the gut.”

The partner of Lieutenant Max Nugent, Chadine Whyte, told the inquiry she was disappointed she was denied having a support person accompany her during a key briefing with ADF. Picture David Clark / NCA NewsWire

Earlier, Mr Nugent told the inquiry about the moment he learnt of his son’s death and his ongoing qualms with parts of the investigation into the crash.

Mr Nugent said two army personnel arrived at their family home on the morning of July 29.

The family was then informed a rescue mission was underway and Lieutenant Nugent was missing.

Mr Nugent said some of his son’s colleagues who had been flying with him that night told the family about what they’d seen.

One of the colleagues, known as D-4, had been flying on Bushman 82 during the mission and had told the Nugent family about the weather conditions they’d experienced that night.

“During the flight he saw a bright flash and that he believed was possibly a flare going off, then he realised it was Max’s aircraft hitting the water,” Mr Nugent told the inquiry.

“He just said he saw a flash, he thought it was potentially a flare from one of the aircraft.

“Then radio (communication) was that an aircraft had gone in.”

The Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter has since been retired early.

Mr Nugent said another one of his son’s colleagues, known as D-10, was flying Bushman 84 when the crash occurred.

“He sort of talked us through what happened to Max’s aircraft,” Mr Nugent said.

“He said they were flying along, gone around the port rather than the saddle of Proserpine … they were entering their holding pattern, did one turn normally, during the second turn Max’s aircraft suddenly gained altitude and turns over and goes in the water suddenly.

“He’s never seen an aircraft do that.”

The inquiry heard that D-10 told Mr Nugent he’d only had enough time to say over the radio “pull up, pull up, pull up”, but no response was ever received.

Mr Nugent said despite having two official briefings since his son’s death with the ADF, he was yet to receive an official death certificate from the Queensland coroner’s office.

“None of Max’s remains were recovered from the crash site,” he said.

“There are some remains from the crash site pending DNA analysis.”

The helicopters were being used during the training mission when one crashed into the ocean. Picture: Defence Imagery / Bradley Richardson

Mr Nugent said he’d been very disappointed in the process with the coroner’s office.

“They’ve been very poor in their communication unless I’ve prompted that communication,” he said.

“We’re here today because my son is dead, that is not a question and for them to what appears to be bureaucracy dragging out to not provide a death certificate is cruel.”

Mr Nugent said while he’d received an army-approved death certificate, the NSW Supreme Court won’t accept it for probate proceedings.

“It’s been extremely frustrating,” he said.

The inquiry was told that bone fragments had been found in the recovery mission and had been sent to a Victorian DNA lab, but those findings were yet to be finalised.

Mr Nugent said he’d received one of his son’s dog tags retrieved from the crash site, his wallet, which had washed ashore and his mobile phone, which was sent back to him by the army.

However, the phone’s data was corrupted and the device was permanently locked.

Mr Nugent said the only time he’d received contact from the Queensland Police Service was when they asked him for his son’s possible password to unlock his phone as part of their investigation.

He said QPS had failed to ask “basic techniques” of questioning as part of their investigation about his son.

“They will rubber stamp the findings of this inquiry and they’ll submit that to the coroner,” Mr Nugent said.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.