By Julie Power and Sarah McPhee
One of the four Defence Force aircrew missing after Friday night’s MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash near Lindeman Island has been remembered as a friend who was “willing to do anything for anyone”.
Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock, also known as Phil, Troop Commander Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent and Corporal Alexander Naggs have been confirmed by the chief of the Australian Army as the four personnel feared dead after the military tragedy in Queensland.
WO2 Joseph Laycock, also known as Phil, is one of the four men identified.
All four were members of the 6th Aviation Regiment based in Holsworthy in Sydney.
Speaking to this masthead on Sunday, Jordan McColl recalled mountain biking with his friend Laycock three weeks ago – one of his friend’s “biggest passions” – and stopping for a kebab. He said, without his knowledge, Laycock had quietly shouted the meal.
“It was a small gesture, but this sums up Phil,” McColl said. “Little did I know this is the last time I would see him. He was such a great friend that would be willing to do anything for anyone. I’m still in disbelief, and it doesn’t feel real. He will be missed by many.”
Experts say there is very little chance any of the four missing helicopter crew members on the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter have survived. Their bodies have yet to be recovered.
Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent is the son of senior NSW police officer Daniel Nugent.
Nugent is the son of senior NSW Police Force officer Danniel Nugent. He graduated from Duntroon Military College in Canberra in 2021, a happy family occasion where his sister, a Sydney nurse, posted smiling photos of the tall young aviator.
The Chief of the Australian Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, said the four families had been informed and had consented to the release of their names. His most pressing duty was to “bring Danniel, Alexander, Joseph and Maxwell home to their families”.
“The work that your army, your navy does, is inherently risky, and we work hard to ensure that we’ve mitigated the risk,” he said at Holsworthy Army Base.
Corporal Alex Naggs.
The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter went down near Lindeman Island, about 11pm on Friday. Over the weekend, a range of debris from the crash was recovered, including some doors, but the airframe has yet to be found.
The crash is one of Australia’s worst peacetime military disasters in almost 20 years, and comes as the aircraft was close to being phased out. The entire MH-90 Taipan fleet has now been grounded.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the country’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and colleagues of those who are missing.”
Speaking in Canberra, he said the crash was “a stark reminder that there are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our country’s name”.
Troop Commander Captain Dan Lyon
Earlier, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the family of Nugent “must be hurting this morning”. He said the family had given so much to the people of Australia with their service to the NSW Police and the Australian Defence Force.
“I can only imagine what they’re going through today. It’s just devastating,” he told Sky News.
The federal government has launched an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash.
Australia and the United States’ most senior defence and foreign policy officials expressed their dismay over the crash, which has revived longstanding concerns about the technical problems that have plagued the MRH-90 Taipan.
The Talisman Sabre exercises in Townsville with the US were paused on Saturday after the crash, but resumed in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The 10th joint Talisman Sabre military exercise involves up to 30,000 personnel and 13 nations.
ANU Professor John Blaxland, a former army colonel, told Channel Nine’s Weekend Today program he had grave fears for those onboard.
“So there’s not much fresh news at hand unfortunately,” he said. “And that’s a really bad indicator for the fact that we’re probably looking at not being able to recover anybody alive.
“Helicopters are really dangerous aircraft because they are inherently unstable. They rely on the rear rotor to actually maintain the stability of an incredibly dangerous spinning four blades at the top.”
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