June 30, 2008
A CULTURE of poor safety standards and risk-taking exists in the army's elite helicopter squadron, the final report into a fatal Black Hawk crash off Fiji has found.
Captain Mark Bingley and SAS Trooper Joshua Porter were killed when the helicopter slammed into the deck of troop carrier HMAS Kanimbla and plunged into the sea during military exercises on November 29, 2006.
Eight crew members survived the crash.
A military board of inquiry into the crash was convened last year, headed by retired NSW Supreme Court judge David Levine.
The inquiry's final report found senior pilots in the Sydney-based 171 Squadron had a culture of aggressive flying, safety procedures were slack and the reporting of incidents involving engine failures and other safety breaches was haphazard, Fairfax has reported.
The crash happened as Captain Bingley was attempting a special operations assault drill, hovering above the ship with the aircraft's nose up to allow soldiers to descend to the ship via rope or fire weapons.
According to the report, the crash resulted from an overstressed engine losing power, leading to a dramatic slowing of the rotor blades known as main rotor droop.
The inquiry found incidents of main rotor droop were quite common but not always reported, and the army's Black Hawks did not have an electronic control unit which reduced the risk.
According to the inquiry, the operation was dangerous given the ship's drift in the sea, the fact the exercise had not been practised at a slower speed and the tailwind, which was misjudged by Capt Bingley.
The report was handed to Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston six months ago, with the defence force head said to be appalled by the findings, Fairfax reported.
It is understood that he dubbed senior pilots from the squadron "cowboys'' and launched an audit of all helicopter fleets.
The inquiry's report and the results of the audit are expected to be published in the next two weeks.