Navy helicopter debris suggests sudden descent before fatal crash

HALIFAX — Former Canadian Armed Forces officers say it appears a naval Cyclone helicopter struck the waters off Greece with sudden and massive force, and investigators may face challenges determining what caused the tragedy without recovering the aircraft.

The crash took the lives of six military personnel when it went down Wednesday in the Mediterranean Sea as it was returning to the Halifax-based frigate, HMCS Fredericton.

The Canadian Forces members have been identified as Capt. Kevin Hagen of Nanaimo, Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald of New Glasgow, N.S., Capt. Maxime MironMorin of Trois-Rivieres, Que. Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke of Truro, N.S. Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins of Guelph, Ont. and Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, originally from Toronto.

Retired Colonel Larry McWha, the former commanding officer of 423 Squadron which flies CH-148 choppers out of the helicopter base in Shearwater, N.S., says images from the area show the debris field of the crash is not large and the oil slick isn’t widely spread out, suggesting a high-speed and violent crash that caused some portions to break off immediately.

He says it’s the ocean equivalent of an aircraft crash onto land that leaves “a smoking, black hole.”

Ken Hansen, a Halifax-based independent defence analyst and former naval officer, said the crash is puzzling, as sparse details released to date don’t give any indicators the crew was aware of a potential problem.

He said sources at the downed helicopter’s home base have told him the crew was “a star crew, top-notch people. He says the chances of pilot error are very low.

In addition, Hansen said he was also told that the aircraft’s maintenance had recently been “completely redone” before the deployment.

“It’s something that would have been done normally for an aircraft going out on a sixmonth deployment. It was in top condition,” he said.

The Cyclone has a self-diagnostic maintenance system and Hansen said this can warn operators of issues long before they can be discovered through direct observation.

He said the known debris field indicates the Cyclone hit the water with great force.

“That means a major event took place, something catastrophic,” said Hansen.