Image Gallery: August 2009
19 August 2009
Operation Kokoda Assist – Update
With the aid of Australian Army Engineers, the first engine was retrieved from the crash site of the ill fated flight of Airlines PNG, a nine hour trek from Kokoda, utilising Army Black Hawk helicopters skillfully attaching an ‘under slung load’ as the pilots deftly departed the scene stopping at Kokoda to refuel before coming home to Port Moresby.
The air teams of Army and Air Force work as one, shows the Australian Defence Force capabilities coming together with the two platforms, the Army Black Hawk helicopter and the Air Force Caribou, as they operate in the rugged terrain of PNG.
From Air Force ground crews to Army Loadmasters, the Australian Defence force continues to provide food, water, and basic supplies to those still working at the crash site.
The Australian Defence Forces is working, ready and able to continue to provide support to the PNG authorities, assisting in all aspects of the operation.
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Royal Australian Air Force, 38 Squadron, Caribou Pilot, Squadron Leader, Ross Benson, stand at Kokoda airstrip for what may be the last time him and his crew visit here with his beloved Caribou Aircraft.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Royal Australian Air Force Caribou Pilot, Squadron Leader
Ross Benson, takes time out, at Kokoda airstrip to talk to some local Papua New Guinea students stranded at Kokoda, before departing on his Caribou, back to Port Moresby.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Touch Down: Royal Australian Air Force Caribou, lands at the Kokoda airstrip to pick up stranded local students for transport to Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Living on the edge: Two Australian Army Aviation Aircrewman Loadmasters, lean out the side of their Black Hawk Helicopter, as the keep an eye on their under slung load - an engine from the crash site, as they land at Kokoda airstrip, in Papua New Guinea.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Up, Up and Away: Australian Army Aviation Black Hawk Helicopter, takes up the slack of its under slung load. – The first engine from the crash site, as they lift off out of the Kokoda airstrip in Papua New Guinea.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Australian Army Aviation Black Hawk Helicopter, flys over villages in Papua New Guinea, through dense jungle, as the first engine from the crash site is under slung, and transported to Port Moresby for further investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Check in: Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Operations Officer Flight Lieutenant Steve Rotherbuhler, checks off Papua New Guinea locals, from Oro Province, after flying in a (RAAF) Caribou from Kokoda to Port Moresby.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Student Thanks: Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Operations Officer, Flight Lieutenant Steve Rotherbuhler, and Sergeant Chris Graham, receive kind words of thanks from Papua New Guinea students, from Oro Province, after being transported on a RAAF Caribou, from Kokoda to Port Moresby.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Dynamic Duo: Australian Army Aviation Black Hawk Helicopter, and a Royal Australian Air Force Caribou, work as a great team together, as they come to rest at Port Moresby International Airport.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Flying in: Australian Army Aviation Black Hawk Helicopter, flys in through the Kokoda Gap as the first aircraft engine is removed from the crash site, in to Kokoda airstrip, in Papua New Guinea.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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Sling away: An Australian Army Aviation Black Hawk Helicopter, carfully places their under slung load down and releases with first aircraft engine is removed from the crash site, in to Kokoda airstrip, in Papua New Guinea.
(Date taken: 18 August 2009)
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