The crew on an army helicopter that started Canberra’s devastating 2020 bushfires were landing for a toilet break when they inadvertently ignited the monster blaze.
An inquest began at the ACT Coroners Court on Monday with evidence from the man in command of the helicopter that started the fire.
An MRH-90 Taipan helicopter – codenamed ANGEL21 – was scouting remote helipads that could be used by outside firefighting teams on January 27, when its searchlight ignited the blaze in the Orroral Valley.
The inquest is focusing on the 45 minutes it took for the helicopter’s crew to alert the ACT Emergency Service Agency to the fire’s location.
The court was played a recording of communications on board the helicopter, which included the army major in charge – who cannot be named for legal reasons – asking if the crew could land to use the bathroom.
“Are we authorised to land in some of these areas for the guys to get out and have a piss?” he said.
They then landed at 1.38pm on a remote helipad that did not form part of their reconnaissance plans for the day.
The major admitted he hadn’t turned off the search light before landing, which the court heard can be as hot as 550 degrees Celsius.
He denied even knowing the light would be hot, telling the court he’d only ever been inside the helicopter when it was on.
The on-board tape recording continued and heard one passenger – another army member – yell, “Come up, come up, we’ve started a fire, turn the searchlight off”.
The helicopter was only stationary for around one minute.
It was heard one of the pilots made the decision to return to Canberra Airport and contacted them with a “pan-pan” distress call, which indicates urgency but no immediate threat to life.
Counsel assisting Kylie Nomchong told the court there’d been regular communications between ANGEL21 and air traffic control on the 17-minute flight to the airport, but added “at no time did anyone on board notify anyone of the fact they had ignited the fire or the location of the fire”.
She said one live issue of the inquiry was when or if the army advised emergency services they’d ignited the fire, the manner of the fire and co-ordinates of the fire.
The fire, which burned for five weeks, was declared out of control after 6pm when more than 1000 hectares were alight and would eventually grow to burn 87,923 hectares throughout the ACT.
ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker opened proceedings by reminding the court the hearings were about learning how similar situations could be efficiently handled moving forward.
“We’re not here to crucify any individual or decision made in the heat of moment, or to undermine the vital relationship between the military and civilian authorities,” she said.
“We’re here to explore how we can learn from it with a view to enhancing everyone’s safety in the future.”
The inquiry is set to run until Friday.
– with AAP
