Update on Afghanistan helicopter incident

Add bookmark
Defence has been able to rule out insurgent ground fire as a possible cause for the CH-47D Chinook crash in southern Afghanistan yesterday which killed Lieutenant Marcus Case and wounded five Army Aviation aircrew.
A review of known facts by ADF personnel in Afghanistan today has concluded that there was no evidence of insurgent activity in the vicinity of the incident site or on the immediate flight path before the crash.
Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said that several key questions were still to be answered but he was confident insurgent action could be ruled out as a possible cause for the helicopter impacting with the ground.
"While we are yet to understand exactly what led to the incident, I am comfortable that the available evidence precludes insurgent small arms fire or rocket attack as a contributing factor," Lieutenant General Power said.
"Today’s review of events closely correlates with the observations of aircrew in the trail aircraft who did not see any insurgent activity at the time of the incident."
The five crew members who survived the incident have been medically assessed as being in a satisfactory condition and have been released from hospital.
The Australian Defence Force will conduct an air safety investigation into the incident.


Upcoming Events

Maritime ISR

28 - 29 October 2025

Copthorne Tara Hotel, London, United Kingdom

Maritime ISR

International Dismounted Soldier

28 - 29 October 2025

Millennium Gloucester Hotel London Kensington, London, United Kingdom

International Dismounted Soldier

International Fighter Conference

4 - 6 November 2025

Sheraton Rome Parco de' Medici, Rome, Italy

International Fighter Conference

Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems

3 - 4 December 2025

Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington, London, United Kingdom

Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems

Defence Transformation

3 - 4 December 2025

Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington, London, United Kingdom

Defence Transformation

Latest Webinars

Securing the Defence Industrial Base: Mitigating Risk and Delivering Resiliency in Physical and Digital Supply Chains

2022-04-21

12:00 PM - 01:00 PM EST

This webinar discusses the current risks in today's supply chain and the recent military initiatives...

Zero Trust and Air Force Missions

2021-07-27

11:50 PM - 01:30 PM EDT

As the Air Force and Space Force make significant strides in implementing Zero Trust, how do they ma...

Laser Weapons today and tomorrow

2021-07-22

12:00 PM - 01:00 PM EDT

Join a dynamic panel discussion on high-energy laser weapons with some of today’s top experts in hig...

Recommended