Defence to hold inquiry into Afghan crash

29 Jul 2012, 3:28 pm   -   Source: AAP

An inquiry into a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in May 2011, which claimed the life of an Australian soldier begins on Monday.

A helicopter crash in Afghanistan which killed an Australian soldier last year will be investigated by a full Commission of Inquiry starting Monday.

The inquiry will be headed by Andrew Kirkham QC, who recently conducted the inquiry into the Australian Defence Force Academy Skype scandal, assisted by Colonel Joseph Rears and Group Captain Stephen Fielder.

Defence said the hearing, at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, will be held in public except when classified information was involved.

Lieutenant Marcus Case, a member of the 6th Aviation Regiment, was killed on May 30 last year when a CH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed in Zabul Province. He was the 26th Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan

Defence investigates all Australian casualties in Afghanistan but most do not go to a full Commission of Inquiry.

Defence force chief General David Hurley announced in April there would be a full inquiry to examine broader issues associated with the crash and the death of Lt Case.

"This includes aspects that were not covered by the technical airworthiness investigation but that may have implications for Australian CH-47D operations," he said.

The initial aviation investigation was not released but some details were leaked to the media, attributing the accident to what was termed "uncontrolled pitch oscillation" while flying close to the ground.

The Chinook's tandem rotor configuration can make it more susceptible to this instability, with defence scientists concluding that the automatic flight control system could sustain rather than dampen these oscillations in certain circumstances.

The aviation investigation did point to a potential problem which led defence to ground its five Chinooks last October, citing issues relating to operation of the flight control system in certain flight conditions. Flight operations have since resumed.

The Australian Army has operated Chinook helicopters since 1973 but the CH-47Ds are a relatively recent acquisition with the first delivered in 1995. With the delivery of two additional aircraft in January, the fleet now numbers seven.

All are set for replacement by F-model Chinooks around 2016.

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