Families of men killed in Taipan army helicopter crash launch class action

A class action has been launched against the Commonwealth and Airbus, over a fatal army helicopter crash that killed four men during a training exercise in July 2023.It is expected to allege failings led to their deaths.Lead applicant, Caitland Lyon lost her husband, Captain Danniel Lyon in the crash.He was flying an MRH90 Taipan helicopter over waters near Lindeman Island during an exercise for exercise Talisman Sabre, one of the defence force's largest military exercises.The families of the four men killed in the crash have launched a class action, expected to allege failings by the Commonwealth and Airbus. (Supplied: ADF)While flying in a four-helicopter formation, his aircraft, which had the call sign Bushman 83, suddenly dipped and plummeted into the ocean.Captain Lyon and his three colleagues, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Phillip Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs died.This week marked three years since the crash, and the families of the four dead aviators returned to Airlie Beach, near the crash site, for the erection of a permanent memorial.A permanent memorial honouring the four men was unveiled earlier this month. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)The class action, which the ABC understands includes around 10 family members of the airmen, is expected to allege reasonable care was not taken in relation to the safety of the Taipan aircraft, its systems and configuration, the planning and authorisation of the mission, the management of visual degraded conditions, fatigue and workload, warnings and risk controls and providing information and support to aircrew.Ms Lyon said she and other affected family members were running up against a time limitation period under Queensland law and needed to stop the clock, after hearing "alarming" evidence at an independent inquiry into the crash."We are deeply concerned by the airworthiness of the [MRH90] and how it was brought into service, as well as the TopOwl system," Ms Lyon said.The TopOwl 5.10 software has been at the centre of examination during the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) inquiry, after former test pilots revealed they had deemed the technology too dangerous for service and that it posed an "unacceptable risk" to pilot safety.That inquiry also heard the men, and their regiment were sleeping next to an active airport and fire station, in hot and noisy tents.The Taipan wreckage was pulled from the water off the coast in the days following the crash. (ABC News)One expert who analysed the men's apparent sleep schedules gave evidence to the inquiry and said the men were so fatigued, it would have been like flying over the legal alcohol limit.The IGADF is set to hand down its findings and recommendations imminently, after a mammoth inquiry.A probe by the Senate is set to hand down a separate report into the crash in September.The Department of Defence and Airbus has been contacted for comment.