AUSTRALIA’s 45-strong fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters would cease flying until further notice after one of them crashed into the ocean during a military exercise.
The old Taipan helicopters have been repeatedly grounded in the past after officials complained they are difficult to maintain and that their spare parts are not always available.
Australian Army Chief Lieutenant Simon Stuart said they’re not going to use the military aircraft until it is declared safe.
The aircraft crashed last week while taking part in a multinational military exercise known as talisman saber, which features 30,000 military personnel from Australia, the U.S. and several other nations.
Debris from the aircraft has been found, but the four crew four members are still missing.
Around 800 defense and emergency services personnel have joined the search for the four missing crew members.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Richard Marles said authorities have lost hope of finding alive the missing military personnel, with search efforts changed to recovery efforts following the “catastrophic incident”.
Investigators arrived on Sunday while the reason for the crash is still unknown.
The crash was the second emergency involving an Australian Taipan this year. In March, the same type of aircraft ditched into the search off the coast of the state of New South Whales while on a training exercise.
