HELICOPTER TRAGEDY 'WE ARE DEVASTATED'

FAMILIES OF THE ADF SOLDIERS PAY TRIBUTE

- Emma Levett

Simply reading “Forever my big brother”, a tribute to Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent penned by his sister Sami on social media after he and three other brave members of the Australian Defence Force were killed in a horror helicopter crash, is heartbreaking.

“You did what you loved until the very end,” Sami posted, alongside precious photos of her brother.

The flight on July 28 was meant to be a standard nocturnal training exercise. But what started as routine ended in tragedy when the the chopper, a MRH-90 Taipan, crashed into the ocean just south of Hamilton Island, Qld. Scattered debris from the wreckage was found floating in the water the following day.

Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, Corporal Alexander Naggs, Captain Daniel Lyon and Max were all on board.

It was soon confirmed there was no hope of finding the men alive. The news has left their families shattered.

The parents of Joseph Laycock, who was also known as Phillip, paid tribute to their beloved son.

“We have been left devastated by the loss of our son,” they wrote on social media.