A navy dive team has recovered the black box of the helicopter that crashed during a military exercise killing four people.
Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were killed when the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed off the Queensland coast on July 28 during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
The black box found on Monday holds key voice and flight data that may shed light on what caused the helicopter to go down.
The Australian Defence Force chief of joint operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton has said all communications were normal before the helicopter hit the water.
The defence department said recovering the wreckage remained complicated and difficult and its priority was to return the soldiers’ remains to their families.
The Queensland coroner has released recovered wreckage, including the black box, to the defence department to support the investigation by the Defence Flight Safety Bureau.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Open Arms 1800 011 046
