Following a tragic crash of the Australian Army’s MRH90 Taipan helicopter in the Whitsundays, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has temporarily suspended flying operations of its NH90 medium utility helicopters.
The decision to pause operations for 48 hours from yesterday was described as a precautionary measure, pending a risk assessment. This comes in the wake of the Australian Defence Force‘s decision on Monday to halt flying operations of their Taipan helicopters.
Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Clark, Chief of the RNZAF, emphasized that this operational pause should not be interpreted as a formal «grounding,» which would imply a regulatory mandate that an aircraft type cannot fly. He added that, at this stage, the RNZAF has no specific reason to question the safety of their NH90s.
«Whilst we don’t currently have cause to believe our NH90s are unsafe, we chose to take a precautionary approach,» Clark stated. «We are temporarily suspending flying operations to conduct a thorough risk assessment. After this period, we will decide whether to resume flying.»
While operations are paused, Clark clarified that if a life-threatening emergency arises that necessitates the use of the NH90s, they may still be deployed depending on the specifics of the situation.
The RNZAF’s NH90s, numbering eight in total, are part of No. 3 Squadron stationed at Ohakea in Manawatū. Three of these helicopters are presently deployed for Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia, but were not implicated in the recent accident.
As the RNZAF conducts its risk assessment, Clark sent condolences to their Australian counterparts. «Our thoughts remain with our Australian colleagues during this tragic time,” he said.
This temporary suspension comes after the crash of the MRH90 Taipan, the same aircraft type as the NH90, off Queensland during Exercise Talisman Sabre on Friday night. The circumstances surrounding the Australian incident remain under investigation.
