An Australian Army NH-90 helicopter, known locally as the MRH-90 Taipan, crashed into the sea off Lindeman Island in the State of Queensland during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
During Exercise Talisman Sabre, an Australian Army NH-90 helicopter, locally known as the MRH-90 Taipan, crashed into the sea off Lindeman Island in the State of Queensland.
The event happened during a night training flight on July 28, 2023, and the four crew members on board are still missing. The 6th Aviation Regiment, headquartered at Holsworthy Barracks in Australia's New South Wales, owned the aircraft.
France, the United States, Germany, Canada, Japan, and South Korea were among the countries that participated in Exercise Talisman Sabre, which got under way on July 22, 2023. The crash of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter prompted authorities to suspend all operations and launch search and rescue efforts.
The Australian Department of Defence reported that a second helicopter was present with the missing MRH-90 Taipan at the time of the mishap, enabling an urgent search to begin. The crew's whereabouts are still a mystery despite the discovery of the wrecked plane's debris.
“There is now a major international effort engaged in the search and rescue of the crew, which is involving hundreds of Defence Force personnel,” stated Richard Marles, the Australian Minister of Defense, “expressing the nation’s anxieties while emphasizing the importance of the ongoing search. “Wreckage of the helicopter has been found, but the main body of the airframe is yet to be located.”
An MRH-90 Taipan helicopter has been involved in two unfortunate incidents so far this year. An engine failure during a counterterrorism drill caused damage to another MRH-90 helicopter on March 22, 2023, off the coast of New South Wales. The crew was swiftly saved in that instance, though, and the Taipan fleet was then grounded for a month while an investigation was carried out.
The Australian Department of Defence made the decision to swap out the Army's fleet of 41 NHIndustries MRH-90 Taipan helicopters for 40 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in December 2021.
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