Four crew members on Australian army helicopter that crashed off coast didn't survive: Officials

“The Australian army helicopter that crashed on July 28 during a multinational exercise hit the water with a “catastrophic impact” and there is no chance its four crew members survived,” officials said on July 31.

“The Australian army helicopter that crashed on July 28 during a multinational exercise hit the water with a “catastrophic impact” and there is no chance its four crew members survived,” officials said on July 31.

Australia's fleet of more than 40 of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, made by French Airbus, has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again.

They will be grounded until crash investigators determine what caused the tragedy. The government announced in January it plans to replace them with 40 U.S. Black Hawks. The Taipans' retirement date of December 2024 would be 13 years earlier than Australia had initially planned.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the search and rescue effort changed on Monday to a victim recovery operation with no chance that Capt. Danniel Lyon, Lt. Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Joseph Laycock or Cpl. Alexander Naggs had survived.

“There was a catastrophic incident and with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding (the four crew) alive has been lost,” Mr. Marles told reporters.

The helicopter crashed during a nighttime exercise with the United States and other nations near the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef.

Mr. Marles had said on July 29 the helicopter “ditched”, which refers to an emergency landing. But on Monday he would not rule pilot error or disorientation in the dark causing the crash into the water. He urged against speculation about potential causes.