Shark 02
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shark 02 was the callsign of the Royal Australian Navy Westland Sea King helicopter embarked in HMAS Kanimbla that crashed, at about 0930UTC 2 April 2005 at the village of Aman Draya on the island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, during a sortie to assist with humanitarian efforts after the 2005 Sumatran earthquake.
Kanimbla had been deployed immediately after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On its way home, while in Singapore, the 2005 Sumatran earthquake occurred and Kanimbla was promptly deployed again. Shark 02 was one of two helicopters embarked in Kanimbla.
Nine Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were killed; six were Navy personnel, plus three from the Royal Australian Air Force. Two others were recovered alive from the site by the other Sea King operating from Kanimbla and transferred to it for medical assistance in its well equipped hospital facilities. The dead were repatriated on 5 April. The survivors came home the following day.
The dead were:
- Navy
- Lieutenant Matthew Davey
- Lieutenant Matthew Goodall
- Lieutenant Paul Kimlin
- Lieutenant Jonathan King
- Petty Officer Stephen Slattery
- Leading Seaman Scott Bennet
- Air Force
- Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy
- Flight Lieutenant Lynne Rowbottom
- Sergeant Wendy Jones
The survivors were:
- Leading Aircraftman Scott Nicholls (medic)
- Leading Seaman Shane Warburton (communication specialist)
Contents |
[edit] Ceremonies and National Remembrance
The arrival of the bodies in Australia on 5 April 2005 was marked by a ceremony at Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney. Families of the deceased were joined by the Governor-General of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery, the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, Chief of Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove and the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
Each of the dead were honoured with Service funerals.
A National Service of Thanksgiving for those killed in the crash of Shark 02 was held on Friday, 15 April 2005 in the Great Hall of Australian Parliament House in Canberra. The service was led by the Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, Bishop Tom Frame, and attended by family members of all nine members killed, and by one of the men pulled from the crashed aircraft. Others who spoke at the service included: John Howard, Australian Prime Minister; Kim Beazley, Leader of the Opposition; and, Imron Cotan, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia.
A separate service was held simultaneously at the Australian Defence Force headquarters at Russell Offices, Canberra.
[edit] Awards
The state visit of President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meant that he could honour the dead by presenting and placing on the casket of each his country's highest honour, the Medal of Valour. The two survivors were awarded with the honour at a later time.
The Indonesian award highlighted a problem of similar honours by the Australian Government, as the soldiers had been part of a humanitarian operation at the time of the incident, not a military one. This was overcome by changing the circumstances for the award of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, so that all who served in the Indonesian humanitarian mission would be eligible, including the nine dead.
[edit] Inquiry
A Board of Inquiry was appointed by the Maritime Commander Australia on 28 April 2005 to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. A comprehensive analysis of the crash has already been conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Team.
The inquiry was supposed to take six weeks, it has taken more than six months. In an interview with Ray Martin, the Maritime Commander Australia, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, said he understands the anger of grieving families.
- "RAY MARTIN: The Navy's integrity is on the line. Is your integrity on the line too?
- REAR ADMIRAL DAVYD THOMAS: Absolutely, my integrity is on the line, I know that."
The Board has completed the hearing phase of the Inquiry. They are expected to deliver a report with findings and recommendations to the appointing authority by 3 November 2006.
