All flight operations in Exercise Pitch Black 2024 in Darwin, Australia, have been temporarily suspended after an aircraft taking part in the exercise, crashed.
Details at press time remain sketchy but initial reports suggest that an aircraft went down 18km southwest of the Daly River, in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The accident site appears to be halfway between Daly River Mission Airport and Anson Bay, just south of the Daly River.
Initial reports state that the pilot ejected from the aircraft. Two search and rescue helicopters, callsigns Chop 41 and Chop 81, were scrambled from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Darwin and Tindal, respectively.
The pilot was later picked up by Chop 41 (an A-139 helicopter, registration number VH-RQY) and was airlifted to the Royal Darwin Hospital, landing safely at 1.05pm. The pilot is reportedly safe and well. All flying for the remainder of the day has been cancelled, an Australian Defence Ministry spokesman said.
Reports continue to trickle in, with the latest saying that the aircraft involved was a Eurofighter Typhoon, a twin-engined multirole fighter operated by the Italian Air Force.
This marks the Italian Air Force’s debut in the biennial, multinational, large-force employment exercise. The Italian detachment is quite significant, with 21 aircraft deployed.
Aside from the four Eurofighter Typhoons, the Italians are also fielding four Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighters in this exercise.
Pitch Black is the largest international air exercise in the Southern Hemisphere, held every two years in Darwin, Australia. This edition is from July 12 till Aug 2.
This year’s edition is the largest in the exercise’s 43-year history and brings together 20 participating nations, more than 140 aircraft from around the world, and 4,435 personnel.
For three weeks, aircrews from nations like Germany, Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom, India, France, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines will launch from RAAF Tindal, Darwin, and Amberley air bases, and conduct a broad spectrum of missions to hone their warfighting skills. The Royal Malaysian Air Force is also taking part in this exercise, with three Boeing F/A-18D strike fighters, and one Airbus A400M Atlas tactical transport on strength.
This marks the RMAF’s fourth participation in the exercise, the first being in 2008.
Main image: Pravin Menon
