Neville, the incident you refer to was the Capricorn Rescue B407 prang at Marlborough in central Qld - 5 dead. "Sleep inertia" played a big part, as did many other factors.
Yes Wally, in the RW game we were 'on base' 24/7 - that was a requirement for an emergency service. Whether the RFDS should do the same would depend on whether they are considered an 'emergency' service or an 'urgent' service