Early Retirement for Australia's Taipan Helicopter Fleet Following Crash
Australia has announced that it will retire its fleet of Taipan helicopters earlier than planned following a crash in July that killed four Australian aircrew. The Taipan fleet will not return to flying operations before the previously scheduled withdrawal date of December 2024. The Australian army's fleet of Taipan helicopters has been plagued by maintenance issues, and they will be replaced by 40 Black Hawk military helicopters. The first three Black Hawks have already arrived in Australia and started flying this month. The investigations into the July crash are expected to take some time.