Anyone have any info on total sorties flown for the last say, 5 years, nationwide, vs the loss rate? The C130 down Canberra way, the 737, a Dromader crashed about 8 or so years ago due fatigue while on a tasking, a Huey in Tasmania a couple years ago from memory and I have it in my mind there was another Huey that went down on a creekbed a year or three ago - but cannot remember if it was providing aerial support for the firies.
No argument from me that it is a risky business, but losing not one, but two LAT's plus a number of smaller aircraft for what is, quite frankly, a limited number of flights per annum suggests the risk v reward matrix needs to be reconsidered before we lose any more good aviators for jobs that aren't absolutely necessary...