Recovery Could Cost $8 Million, Take Many Weeks

A high-tech locator drone on loan from the US Navy located an Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter lost November 29 as it was attempting to land on the deck on HMAS Kanimbla off the Fiji coast.

The drone, towed behind the HMAS Melville, detected the helicopter's pinging beacon Friday during the ship's first pass over the crash site. In order to pinpoint an accurate location of the wreckage, however, it could take days recording the area from various angles in a grid pattern.

The Black Hawk was fitted with a beacon that switches on when exposed to salt water and transmits for about 30 days; the helicopter has been lost for 19 days. It could take weeks to prepare a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) to approach the wreckage and recovery efforts could cost $8 million.

There were 10 personnel on board at the time of the crash, including crew and special forces soldiers, many badly wounded, according to Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who spoke with reporters in Canberra the day of the crash.

Helicopter pilot Captain Mark Bingley was killed and the body of Special Air Service Regiment Trooper Josh Porter may still be trapped in the wreckage, located in waters nearly two miles deep in the ocean near Fiji. The ocean floor also features volcanic crevices that plunge even deeper into the earth's surface.

The water temperature at that depth is 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the pressure 300 times atmospheric pressure at sea level.

HMAS Newcastle, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Success had been on stand-by to evacuate Australians if an early-December coup in Fiji had sparked violence. Once the Australian Defence Force and the Federal Government determined the threat of violence had abated, the deployment was terminated. HMAS Melville remained behind to search for the lost Black Hawk.

The Black Hawk, which carries a crew of four and up to 10 soldiers, is the principal transport helicopter of the Australian Army, entering service in 1988 when the Australian army acquired a total of 39. The last aircraft was delivered in 1991. Over the last decade, Australia has lost more service personnel in helicopter accidents than from any other cause.

FMI: www.defence.gov.au