Canadian Forces Chopper Goes Down Off Nova Scotia Coast
Posted July 13, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Three Canadian Forces personnel are dead and four others are injured after a military helicopter went down off the coast of Nova Scotia during a training exercise.
The CH-149 Cormorant had been participating in a search-and-rescue training exercise when the deadly mishap occurred at about 12:30am. Weather was hazy at the time but it’s not known if that played a part.
No names have been released as military officials notified the next of kin.
Canadian Forces spokesperson Capt. John Pulchny said the four survivors were taken from the water and brought to hospital while the search continued for the three who perished.
“Three crew members were found dead and are now being recovered by rescue personnel,” he said.
The cause of the crash isn’t known but the chopper crew was practicing hoist training with a coast guard ship at the time – a move that generally involves raising or lowering something to the water.
“As far as we understand, it (the crash) just came out of the blue – a sudden call by a coast guard vessel, in fact, that the helicopter had ditched,” Pulchny stated, adding that there were no distress calls prior to the accident.
A witness who saw the craft before it went down found it strange that there didn’t appear to be any lights on it.
“It was just like a big boom, like a stick of dynamite going off,” said Mel Rhynald of the noise that followed.
“We heard the boom and we just took for granted that’s what happened because it was a little hazy and then we knew exactly that the chopper went down.”
A local team has begin to probe what happened, and officials from Ottawa will soon join in the effort.
Facts about the Cormorant helicopter that crashed early Thursday:
Fleet: Canada owns 15 Cormorants, which were delivered between 2000 and 2002.
Use: In Canada, the helicopter is used for search-and-rescue missions across Canada, replacing the previous fleet of Labrador helicopters.
Specs: Medium-lift helicopter in the 15 tonne class with a 5,400 kilogram payload and a 27-cubic-metre cabin. All-weather aircraft, capable of operations in Arctic conditions down to –45C with severe icing to –20C, and in tropical temperatures up to 50C.
Engines: Powered by three General Electric CT7-6 or three Rolls Royce/Turbomeca RTM 322 engines. Capable of a 300 km/h dash and 280 km/h cruising speed.
Range: Almost 1,400 kilometres in normal cruise with full internal fuel which can be extended by scheduled twin engine operation or using internal auxiliary fuel.
Bases: Greenwood, N.S.; Trenton, Ont.; Gander, N.L.; Comox, B.C.
Manufacturer: Agusta-Westland, an Anglo-Italian consortium.
Cost: Ottawa announced in January 1998 that it would pay $790 million for the aircraft from Agusta-Westland, which won the contract over four contenders.
Previous difficulties: The fleet was grounded two years ago after a Royal Navy equivalent was involved in a crash caused by a tail rotor brake failure. There have also been problems with the aircraft’s hoist mechanism.
Maintenance: The aircraft is maintained by a private contractor, IMP Group Ltd., and technicians on the base.
Background: The triple-engine Cormorant is a scaled-down version of the EH-101, which became an election issue in 1993. The Liberals criticized the original Tory deal to buy 50 of the aircraft for search-and-rescue and for use aboard warships. That contract was cancelled days after the Liberals took office.
