Toowoomba soldier's death leads to safer chopper training - Toowoomba Chronicle

THE death of former Toowoomba man Lieutenant Marcus Case has led the Australian Defence Force to change its helicopter training practices.

Lt Case, 27, died after he was thrown from a CH-47D Chinook helicopter ramp in 2011 while serving with the Army in Afghanistan.

A Commission of Inquiry report into his death released yesterday found the ADF has adopted 71 recommendations and initiatives stemming from the Aviation Accident Investigation Team investigation.

The inquiry found five factors contributed to Lt Case's death, including the fact the helicopter was "susceptible to pitch oscillations during operations at high density altitude", and that pilots believed the Advanced Flight Control System could have corrected pitch disturbances.

It also found the pilot and co-pilot had incorrectly responded to the pitch oscillations, and that Lt Case had been riding on the ramp which was against Army policy.

The ADF agreed to and implemented the 19 recommendations handed down in the inquiry's report.

It also accepted the 35 recommendations from the Aviation Accident Investigation Team in February, 2012, as well as 17 internal safety initiatives.

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