Minister for Defence
Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 - Telephone: (06)
2777800, Facsimile (06) 2734118
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 6 March 1997
Black Hawk Board of Inquiry
- Defence Flying Safety Authority & Monthly
Report on Implementation Plan
The Minister for Defence, Mr Ian McLachlan, said today
that as a result of the Board of Inquiry into the Black
Hawk helicopter crash near Townsville on 12 June last
year, an Australian Defence Force Flying Safety Authority
would be established.
In a statement to Federal Parliament, Mr McLachlan
said that the Authority, under the Chief of Air Force,
would be responsible for the supervision of all flying
safety issues for the ADF, regardless of the Service
operating individual types of aircraft.
In also tabling a report by the Chief of the Army,
the Minister said that Lieutenant General John Sanderson
had developed an implementation plan to carry out
the Board's recommendations.
The Chief of the Army is to provide the Minister
with monthly reports on the progress of his implementation
plan and on the status and safety of counter terrorism
training.
These initiatives follow the collision between the
two Army helicopters on the High Range Training Area
which claimed the lives of 18 members of the Special
Air Service and the 5th Aviation Regiment, and in
which a further 12 were injured and equipment worth
$37 million was destroyed.
Mr McLachlan said that in the aftermath of the crash
there were conspicuous acts of bravery during the
rescue of the injured. The Army will be proposing
a number of awards to recognise this bravery.
Mr McLachlan said that General Sanderson advised him
that the immediate cause of the accident was that the
lead helicopter turned right, colliding with an adjacent
helicopter, causing them both to crash.
The subsequent Board of Inquiry convened by Lieutenant
General Sanderson, identified 16 directly causative
and a further 26 contributing factors.
The Board made 79 recommendations, many of which
required the Australian Defence Force to implement
and adhere to best practice procedures to help ensure
a safer military operating environment.
The findings of the Board dismissed some of the widely-speculated
causes - It found there were no mechanical
defects in the Black Hawk helicopters, the accident
was not caused by unserviceable night vision
goggles, no shots were fired in or at any aircraft
which would have caused the accident, nor was there
any ordnance explosion before the collision.
The Board found that there was no single reason for
the tragedy, there was a chain of events which led
to a situation in which the accident became what the
Board described as the 'inevitable outcome'.
The Board found the high pilot separation rates over
the two previous years had eroded the bank of experience
at the 5th Aviation Regiment. The Black Hawk helicopters
also had a high rate of unserviceability in the two
years leading up to the accident.
These factors prevented the Black Hawk crews from
gaining sufficient flying experience for special counter
terrorism operations.
To stem separation rates, efforts taken so far include
the introduction of a Pilot Retention bonus, increasing
return of service obligations and boosting the number
of trainee Army pilots.
Mr McLachlan said that the implementation plan addressed
systemic and equipment issues, and proposed measures
to improve command, control and exercise planning as
well as changes to training.
New directives will be issued to ensure that the
command and control planning, intelligence gathering,
orders and briefings, conduct of missions and training
requirements which were recommended by the Board are
specified for future Special Forces operations.
The acquisition of improved night vision goggles,
proximity warning devices, redesigned fast roping
and rappelling devices is being evaluated.
Crash data recorders will be fitted to all Army aircraft
as a matter of priority and to Black Hawk helicopters
as a matter of urgency.
The Board recommended that disciplinary action be considered
against five ADF members in relation to negligence,
deficiencies in the exercise of command and errors in
judgment
Following legal advice, the Board's Report has been
referred to a Convening Authority to determine whether
action under the Defence Force Discipline Act should
be taken against three persons. The Chief of Army
has decided to take administrative action against
two other personnel. At this stage, it is not appropriate
to disclose their names nor details of possible offences.
The accident brought the issue of support to ADF members
and their families into sharper focus, especially since
it is clear that parts of the existing peacetime rehabilitation
and compensation scheme for ADF personnel are inappropriate.
The Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel
ordered a review of rehabilitation and compensation
arrangements for military personnel.
This was to investigate the adequacy of lump sum
payments, ancillary benefits and supporting services
for dependants of deceased ADF members.
It was to examine also the different entitlements
that accrue to ADF members for death or serious injury
suffered during peacetime service under the Veterans'
Entitlement Act or the Military Compensation Scheme
as well as the administrative arrangements involved
when members are covered by both schemes. The review
is to report to Mrs Bishop very shortly and will be
subject to consideration by Cabinet.
Mr McLachlan emphasised that the training activities,
which so unfortunately led to the accident, were essential
to Australia's national security - especially with just
three years remaining before the Sydney Olympic Games.
Training for counter terrorism operations takes Australia's
forces to the cutting edge of capability, demanding
degrees of speed, stealth, precision and lethality
beyond those required of any other element of the
Army.
But a balance between safety and realism can only
be achieved through meticulous preparation and planning
as well as the staged progression of training reflecting
the difficulty and danger of the task.
"The training and preparation of our counter-terrorist
forces will continue to be as demanding and realistic
as is safely possible. We must maintain our cutting
edge capability in counter terrorism operations.
"Those lost in this terrible accident would
have expected nothing less of us", Mr McLachlan
said.
