Subscribe Sign in

Taipan crash inquiry leads to recommendation for Defence report review

ABC News
1 min read Rewritten in plain language

Defence Forces

Show what we removed Rules applied: A1 A3 C1 C2 D2 D3×9 D4 F2 all 30 rules
  • A senate committee has recommended a Defence report into the 2023 Taipan army helicopter crash be reviewed after claims of corruption and fabricated evidence.
  • The senate probe into the MRH-90 crash, which claimed the lives of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Max Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Joseph "Phil" Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs, began its inquiry in June.
  • Major Wilson said he had flagged issues with the technology with Defence before it was pushed into service, fearing someone would die if it was rolled out.
  • The DFSB investigation into the downing of the MRH-90 found it was unlikely the TopOwl technology contributed to the crash.
  • The senate has now released a set of recommendations following its probe, including that the Australian government independently review the DFSB report "to ensure the investigation and its findings were not improperly influenced and conclusions are sound".

5 sentences from our version of the report, chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below. How

Headline check

The one thing this headline claims is in the report.

Figures, names and quoted words in the headline, looked for in the report itself — not in the summary above. One claim in this headline could be checked, so this is a narrow pass and not a thorough one. How this is checked

A senate committee has recommended a Defence report into the 2023 Taipan army helicopter crash be reviewed after claims of corruption and fabricated evidence.

The committee heard explosive claims that an independent Defence Flight Safety Bureau (DFSB) report had been corrupted by an "obvious" conflict of interest.

The senate has also recommended the Department of Defence reconsider eligibility for the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial.

The senate probe into the MRH-90 crash, which claimed the lives of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Max Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Joseph "Phil" Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs, began its inquiry in June.

The IGADF inquiry had heard the TopOwl 5.10 software had a tendency to give incorrect readings when pilots turned their heads.

Major Wilson said he had flagged issues with the technology with Defence before it was pushed into service, fearing someone would die if it was rolled out.

Senator David Shoebridge asked Major Wilson at the first hearing in June.

The DFSB investigation into the downing of the MRH-90 found it was unlikely the TopOwl technology contributed to the crash.

DFSB director Group Captain David Smith was questioned about the alleged conflict of interest at the senate hearing but said any perceived conflict of interest was not the subject of the report.

The senate has now released a set of recommendations following its probe, including that the Australian government independently review the DFSB report "to ensure the investigation and its findings were not improperly influenced and conclusions are sound".

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 5.2 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentHappiness
ABC Newsas they published this story 9.8 11 77 -0.3 38.4
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News 8.1 10 77 -0.3 38.4

Sign in to react.

This story is about a death. Comments are closed on those, because the people closest to it are among the people who read them. If something here is wrong, tell us — that we do read.