A wave, then the chopper dived
By Connie Levett on Nias and Cynthia Banham
April 4, 2005

In a single terrible moment, Australia has lost more military personnel than in all its recent military missions combined: nine young men and women who perished when their helicopter crashed on an earthquake relief mission in Indonesia.

"Every life of an Australian service man or woman is precious to all of us, it's precious to me," the Prime Minister, John Howard, said. "To lose nine young Australians on a mission such as this is really quite terrible news."

As the Sea King helicopter approached Aman Draya, on the west coast of Nias, villagers saw one of the Australians wave to a crowd below. A witness, Benar Giawa, said he could see the pilot's face. As it came within about 20 metres, it plummeted to the ground and caught fire.

"The man at the door waved his hand; he did not survive," Mr Giawa told the Herald. "It was the people in the back that survived. The back [of the helicopter] was broken and we pulled them out through that."

The crash claimed more lives than the military missions in the Solomons, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It left nine families in mourning and personnel on HMAS Kanimbla, the helicopter's base, having to continue their mission as they grieved the loss of their colleagues.

Six navy and three air force personnel died; there were two survivors. The vessel had been on its way home from three months' service in Aceh after the Boxing Day tsunami when it was turned back to help after the earthquake in Nias last Tuesday.

In an emotional address yesterday morning, the ship's captain, Commander George McGuire, said: "We'll get our family members back. We owe it to their memory to continue with our job ... it would be disrespectful to them if we don't complete our mission."

The six navy dead were named last night as Lieutenant Mathew Davey, a doctor from Canberra; Lieutenant Matthew Goodall, a helicopter observer from NSW; Lieutenant Paul Kimlin, a pilot from Canberra; Lieutenant Jonathan King, a pilot from Queensland; Petty Officer Stephen Slattery a medic from NSW; and Leading Seaman Scott Bennett, an aircrewman, from NSW. The air force personnel were Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy, a senior medical officer from Western Australia; Flight Lieutenant Lyn Rowbottom of Queensland; and Sergeant Wendy Jones of Queensland.

In an expression of national grief, flags at Parliament House in Canberra and the prime minister's Sydney residence, Kirribilli House, were flying at half mast. For the families of the nine dead, the sadness was more personal. Lieutenant Kimlin's family said he had "died doing what he loved - flying and making a difference to communities around the world. He was loving, generous, thoughtful, funny, talented and always dedicated to his family and partner, Laura

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/04/03/1112489350406.html