Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash gained altitude then suddenly nosedived near Lindeman Island before tragic crash that killed four servicemen, inquiry told

An army helicopter involved in a fatal training exercise gained altitude before plummeting into the ocean, an investigation has heard.

Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Towing Petty Officer Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were killed when the helicopter crashed off the north Queensland coast in July 2023.

In the afternoon they participated in military exercises during the multinational exercise Talisman Sabre.

An independent investigation into the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash off Lindeman Island has detailed for the first time the events leading up to the incident.

Colonel Jens Streit, acting as co-counsel, told the inquiry’s first public hearing in Brisbane on Tuesday that the Taipan helicopter had been assigned the call sign Bushman 83.

It was among a group of four helicopters that would fly to Lindeman Island to pick up Australian Defense Force personnel who were conducting an exercise there.

At around 10pm they took off from Proserpine Airport and entered a holding pattern as they waited for confirmation that ADF personnel on the island were ready to be picked up.

“I anticipate that the evidence will show that shortly after entering the holding pattern, Bushman 83 was observed to develop an increasing rate of climb, taking it to an altitude above the other aircraft…before it was observed that “It suddenly tilted its nose down and descended rapidly toward the water,” Col Streit said.

An investigation into the crash of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter in July 2023 revealed that it gained altitude before suddenly falling into the ocean off northern Queensland.

The air mission commander radioed from another helicopter to Bushman 83, telling them to “stop.”

Bushman 83 crashed into the water, and the crew of another helicopter immediately began searching for their colleagues in the water.

‘Tragically, no survivors were located. The search and rescue operation continued until the early morning hours of July 28, 2023,” Col Streit said.

The investigation is led by former judge Margaret McMurdo, with support from Air Vice Marshal Joe Iervasi and Colonel Jens Streit.

McMurdo acknowledged the “horrific effect” the incident had on the victims’ families, friends and colleagues.

Corporal Alex Naggs, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent and Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock (pictured left to right) were the other three killed in the tragedy.

“This investigation will strive to avoid exacerbating that pain,” he said.

The Australian fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters was withdrawn from service shortly after the accident, more than a year before the planned retirement date.

The helicopters were initially scheduled to be retired from service in December 2024.