Thanks to reader and former SASR member John B for the very sad reminder  - as John wrote to me this morning:

Twenty years ago tomorrow we suffered our worst ever peacetime loss of life in a military aviation crash.

Fifteen soldiers from the Special Air Service Regiment were killed.

Three soldiers from the Army's 5th Aviation Regiment were killed.

On the evening of 12 June 1996 two S-70-A9 Blackhawk helicopters from the 5th Aviation Regiment carrying SASR troopers collided during a live-fire counter-terrorism/special-recovery operation exercise at Fire Support Base Barbara in the High Range Training Area near Townsville.

The SASR and Blackhawks from 5AR were training for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. "Exercise Day Rotor 96" took place on the second day of the exercise.   The whole exercise was conducted in darkness - requiring the pilots to use night vision goggles (NVG).

Six aircraft were approaching the target area when the crash happened.  At what should have been 30 seconds from the landing zone, one of the helicopters veered to the right, clipping the tail rotor of another helicopter.

One Blackhawk crashed immediately killing 12 personnel on board, while the other was able to make a crash landing but burst into flames, killing six.

Crash survivors, soldiers from the other helicopters and exercise staff risked the flames and exploding ammunition to rescue their comrades and retrieve the bodies of the dead.  

During the week I've been exchanging emails with a mate who was in the SASR.  He said "All our training is for real, most of the guys killed over the years have been killed in training accidents".

He went on to talk about attention to every detail, taking nothing for granted, never allowing complacency to slip in and rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal.  "Burkey flew me on ops in XXXX - great pilot".

You'll see why my mate thinks so highly of then Captain Burke in the videos below.

The professionalism of our SASR is the reason they are so widely respected throughout the profession of arms.  It's certainly not for their diversity nor their cultural training scores.

This documentary from the ABC's Four Corners tells the story of that terrible night.

At the going down of the sun

And in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest We Forget.

UPDATE - I'll be very happy to publish tributes to the fallen here.

Here's Regiment Mick.

@mpsmithnews EVEN GOD NEEDS HERO'S BY HIS SIDE.

— mick derby (@regiment_mick) June 11, 2016

@mpsmithnews Did Kapooka with Tim, joined in Syd the same day. Called him 'yabby' -good bod, head full of shit. RIP. pic.twitter.com/cTP3V1EoxI

— The Angry Ranga (@the_angry_ranga) June 11, 2016

Sean said:

I lost a very good mate on that day and had another, as one of those getting members out of the wreckage. This was a day I will never forget and will always remember where I was on this sad day in 1996. Lest We Forget

Gabriel Jose Today, either 4BC or ABC ran an interview with one of the Blackhawk pilots ( I think Black 3). It was a good interview. I have flown with Dave Burke in his Blackhawk from 5AR in 95. He is a great guy and pilot. One of my mates from SASR was supposed to be on Black 1 or 2 but at the last minute was re-assigned to another job and the trooper that took his place was killed. :(

Joe Ellis said:

I lost my father. He was a great man, he was a professional man, above all all, he was the man of my family. I still remember waking up and my mum telling me he wasn't coming home. 20 years on, it still pains me to think of that day. Many times have I thought that it wasn't in my interest to carry on but I did. I now have a beautiful wife and an amazing daughter, which my father would be proud. We love and miss you terribly, 'Hughie', Dad.

@MarkBinskin_CDF @AustralianArmy lost one of my soldiers in that crash; CPL Avedissian, he was so proud of his beret, RIP mate @mpsmithnews

— Old Soldier (@OMGTheMess) June 12, 2016

Kyle Tyrrell

3 mins · Galali, Bahrain ·

 

RIP Bothers