Chief of Navy's Letter to the Editor – Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail

5 March 2010

Dear Editor,

The article Chopper's near-miss written by Ian McPhedran and published on 3 March 2010 is erroneous and therefore misleading. I write to correct the record on this matter for the benefit of your readers.

The article states that the "pilot fought for control". This was never the case. The aircraft remained fully controllable throughout the incident and the pilot was always in full control.

The claim that the pilot reported a "MAYDAY" is untrue. The crew declared a "PAN", which indicates a request for priority handling, not an emergency. The event was conducted as a precautionary landing. HMAS Warramunga's crew were already at their usual Flying Stations but no "Crash on Deck" was ever declared.

There was no "bucking deck". The ship motion at the time of the incident was benign.

This was a serious incident and is being treated as such. Navy's Fleet Air Arm sees safety as its number one priority and continues to maintain this focus.

In response to the incident, all Navy Seahawk helicopter flying operations were suspended while the cause of the "PAN" incident was investigated. This response was consistent with Navy's standard operating procedures and strong "safety first" approach.

Vice Admiral Russ Crane
Chief of Navy