BLACKHAWK RECOVERED FROM THE SEABED

The task to recover the wreckage of the Black Hawk helicopter that was lost last year in almost 3000 metres of water is drawing to a close.  A week-long effort to recover the wreckage will complete tonight.

A large portion of the wreckage has been recovered. This included the helicopter’s flight data recorder.  The final phase of the task is to search for any other parts of the wreckage that can be recovered.

The recovery ship, Defence Maritime Services vessel MV Seahorse Standard, will shortly commence passage to Noumea.  On arrival in Noumea on 13 March, the remains of Trooper Joshua Porter will be transferred to a waiting RAAF aircraft for repatriation to Australia.   Trooper Porter’s remains are being accompanied by Australian Defence Force escorts throughout. 

Seahorse Standard will return to Australia with the aircraft wreckage later this month.  The wreckage will become evidence in the Board of Inquiry into the crash.

This is an excellent outcome to what was has been a most complex and challenging task.  The primary focus of the mission was to return Trooper Porter’s remains to Australia so that his family could lay him to rest.  Recovering the aircraft wreckage was an additional benefit and will greatly assist the Inquiry into the accident.

I wish to once again express my thanks to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force, in particular the Royal Australian Navy who have been involved in the meticulous planning and execution of this task and to the specialist support from SUPSALV and Defence Maritime Services without whom the assignment could not have been achieved.

MV Seahorse Standard conducted a survey on 3-4 March to identify the location of the aircraft and the remains of Trooper Porter.  Trooper Porter’s remains were recovered on 5 March by specialist equipment provided by the SUPSALV team. 

The Black Hawk crashed into the sea on November 29 last year whilst operating from HMAS Kanimbla, which was part of an Australian task group on standby to evacuate Australian nationals from Fiji in the event of a military coup.

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