Canada turns to U.S. Navy for help recovering downed military helicopter

The Canadian Armed Forces is turning to the U.S. Navy for help finding and recovering the wreckage of a Cyclone helicopter that crashed off the coast of Greece last month, killing six service members and raising questions about the rest of the helicopter fleet.

Senior military commanders detailed the plan to recover the helicopter known as Stalker 22 during a briefing Tuesday, noting the Canadian military does not have the capability to recover the helicopter from under about 3,000 metres of water.

The helicopter crashed into the Ionian Sea on April 29 within sight of the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton while participating in a

NATO training mission. The remains of two Armed Forces members have been recovered, while four are missing and presumed dead.

The decision to find and recover the wreckage was made soon after the crash to recover the bodies of anyone still on board and to better understand why the Cyclone went down, said Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command.

While the Cyclone’s flight-data and voice recorders were recovered after breaking away from the helicopter when it hit the water and are now being analyzed by the National Research Council, experts have said examining the main wreckage could provide important clues.

“We’ve determined that the most rapid response capability was resident in the U.S. Navy,” Rouleau said during a briefing on Parliament Hill with several senior officers.

“Speed in this search and recovery is very important for a number of reasons. The first is for the families. The second relates to our CAF ethos: We do not leave our fallen behind. And the third reason is because the environment will degrade evidence over time.”