Human remains from the Taipan that crashed into the sea on Friday have been located on the ocean floor, the ADF has confirmed.
Searchers have also found parts of the helicopter’s cockpit in water about 40 metres deep, despite poor weather hampering the recovery.
It comes after the helicopter ditched into the water south of Hamilton Island while participating in the Talisman Sabre “war game” involving 30,000 participants.
On Thursday afternoon, Defence Force Chief of Joint Operations, Greg Bilton, said the debris field is consistent with a “catastrophic, high impact”.
“The debris field is consistent with a catastrophic, high impact [crash]. Sadly, I can confirm unidentified human remains have also been observed in this location by the remote-operated underwater vehicle.