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CANBERRA - The Australian navy is still deciding whether it will launch a recovery operation for wreckage from an Army Black Hawk helicopter which crashed into the sea off Fiji last year, killing two defence personnel.
Last month the Navy pinpointed the location of the Black Hawk's locator beacon almost 3km under the sea.
The Defence Department today said it would conduct a further survey of the site in order to establish the condition of the aircraft on the sea floor.
They expect the work to be done by late March.
After it's completed, Defence will decide whether to attempt recovery of the wreckage, based on the information gathered during the survey operation.
Defence has nominated US salvage organisation SUPSALV to conduct the operation, which it described as complex and challenging.
"They are specialists in recovering military aircraft from depths at which the flight data recorder was located," Defence said in a statement.
The Black Hawk crashed into the sea on November 29 as it sought to land aboard the amphibious support ship HMAS Kanimbla, part of an Australian task group on stand-by to evacuate Australian nationals off Fiji in the event of a military coup.
The pilot Captain Mark Bingley and Special Air Service Regiment Trooper Josh Porter were killed. Trooper Porter's body has not been recovered and may remain trapped in the helicopter wreckage on the sea floor.
- AAP
