'Lack of trust' between ADF and Queensland police plagued Taipan helicopter crash investigation, inquiry hears

An army chaplain, tasked with consoling the families of four defence personnel who died in the Taipan helicopter crash off Queensland's coast last year, has denied telling a partner she would "find somebody new".

Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Corporal Alexander Naggs died when their helicopter crashed into the ocean off Lindeman Island in July 2023 during a training exercise.

An independent inquiry examining the circumstances that led to the ill-fated crash has started its third phase of public hearings in Brisbane.

In the months after the crash, Chaplain Bruce Hammonds — who served as a reservist with the 6th Aviation Regiment — was accused of telling the partner of Lieutenant Nugent, Chadine Whyte, she was "young" and would "find somebody new".

"Which is an incredibly cruel thing to say because [my partner is] not replaceable," Ms Whyte told the inquiry in May.

Chaplain Hammonds denied the accusation during questioning by Colonel Jens Streit, who is assisting former judge Margaret McMurdo in the inquiry, but admitted his recollection of that day was not accurate.

"I would never have used those words," he said.

"She'd suffered significant loss. I certainly was not dismissive of her or minimised the pain or grief she was feeling."

In a separate incident, Chaplain Hammonds was accused of telling the widow of Captain Danniel Lyon, Caitland Lyon, that hosting his funeral on Father's Day would be "disrespectful" to her own father and future partners.

"I wanted to encourage her not to have it on that date, because of the implications of Father's Day … not just for her family but for the whole regiment," he said.

"I didn't suggest she would find somebody, but that life would move forward.

"I didn't use the words disrespect, I wanted her to honour [her own father]."

The inquiry was told, since joining the army in late 2010, Chaplain Hammonds underwent minimal formal training in the process of notifying bereaved families.

'Lack of trust' between QPS and ADF

The inquiry also heard trust and communication issues plagued the relationship between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) during the initial investigation and recovery.

"It was like daily head-banging against the wall," Senior Constable Christian Troeger, a Forensic Crash Investigator involved in the recovery mission, told the inquiry.

"The lack of information sharing … it's very easy to believe there was a lack of trust across all gambits of the investigation."

Previous inquiry sittings heard witnesses raised concerns about the integrity of QPS's handling of the investigation.

Despite only undergoing a "very basic" training course on air crash investigations, Senior Constable Troeger was sent to the Whitsundays to assist in the recovery operation on July 31, 2023, four days after the incident.

He told the inquiry the ADF was dismissive of police expertise, and that he believed the defence force was not sharing crucial evidence.

"We had concerns that once the technical information from the flight recorder had been surrendered to the ADF, that information would not have been received by us," Senior Constable Troeger said.

"When debris was obtained, everything had to be cleansed and sanitised."

Experts, members of the QPS, and members of the 6th Aviation Regiment are due to give evidence this week.

The inquiry continues.