Fleet's time is up, says Nelson

By Cynthia Banham Defence Reporter
March 1, 2006

THE troubled navy Sea King helicopter fleet should be replaced within five years, the Defence Minister says.

Brendan Nelson told the Herald he planned to rush the proposal through cabinet, as pressure mounted to limit the use of the Sea Kings in the light of the inquiry into last April’s fatal crash on the Indonesian island of Nias.

The parents of one of the Australian Defence Force personnel killed in the crash have written to the navy’s maritime commander asking him to prohibit the Sea Kings from carrying passengers until the inquiry has finished.

Haila and John McCarthy, the parents of Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy, have pleaded with Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas to issue the directive.

Evidence at the inquiry has revealed the Defence Force ignored repeated recommendations following a Sea King crash on Cape York in 1995 that safer seats, seatbelts and fuel systems be installed – in part because of cost.

“This known risk is totally unacceptable,” the parents wrote.

Three of the Sea Kings are flying again after being grounded because of maintenance concerns. All but one are due to return to service in the coming weeks.

But Dr Nelson, who flew in one of the Sea Kings last week, on a visit to the 817 squadron at Nowra, rejected suggestions the helicopters needed to be made safer in the event of a crash. It was a “question of balance” rather than money, he said.

“If you enhance or strengthen safety in one area, you can actually diminish it in another,” Dr Nelson said. Installing more crash-resistant seats could place passengers at more of a risk in the event of a crash, he said.

Dr Nelson said he had also visited Nowra on his motorbike recently and “I can tell you I was a lot safer on the Sea King.”

He said people who undertook humanitarian and life-saving work in the Sea Kings “place themselves at some risk. It’s a question as in all things of trying to balance reasonable risk.”

His comments angered some of the Sea King victims’ parents.

“How can Brendan Nelson even think of flying passengers in Sea Kings until he gets the recommendations of the board of inquiry?” asked Mrs McCarthy.

Dr Nelson said his “early assessment” as Defence Minister was that naval aviation had “not had the kind of attention it deserves”.

Dr Nelson said he had got the impression from his visit that the morale of 817 squadron was “good and it’s improving”, and that the Sea Kings were “as safe if not safer to fly and be flown in now than at any time perhaps over the last five or six years”.

But he said the pilots wanted to know how long the Sea Kings would be around. “They’re saying: if we are flying the Sea King for another four or five years that’s fine, we’re very happy to do it, happy to maintain it and proud of what we do, but give us the certainty of knowing what will happen – and I couldn’t agree with them more.”

Dr Nelson said he would be arguing for the Sea King to be replaced as soon as was practicable. “I would like the Government to consider a timeline of around five years,” he said.

One option was a version of the MRH90 troop lift helicopters, 12 of which will come into service with the army next year. Dr Nelson said it made sense because of “economies of scale” and would mean the Sea Kings could be replaced sooner.

Dr Nelson said some of his colleagues might not agree with the proposal, but in procurement “this is the highest priority now”.