Helicopter didn’t respond as expected before crash: report
OTTAWA — Military investigators are focusing on “aircraft systems and human factors” after determining the Cyclone helicopter that crashed off the coast of Greece in April did not respond as the crew expected before slamming into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Royal Canadian Air Force on Monday released a preliminary report on the crash of the helicopter codenamed Stalker 22, which went down into the Ionian Sea on April 29. Six military members were on board. All of them were killed.
Stalker 22 was participating in what the preliminary report describes as a “routine” reconnaissance mission followed by some additional training with the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton in the immediate lead-up to the crash.
Military officials have also previously confirmed that it participated in a photoop with the frigate before going down.
The Cyclone then flew past the Fredericton before turning to set up for landing and, according to the report, “during this final complex manoeuvring turn to close with the ship, the aircraft did not respond as the crew would have anticipated.
“This event occurred at a low altitude, was unrecoverable and the aircraft entered a high energy descent and impacted the water astern the ship.”
The Forces initially said contact with the Cyclone was lost, leading to the impression it was far from Fredericton when it went down. Only later did it reveal that members of the frigate’s crew had witnessed the crash.
The investigators did not reveal how they discovered what happened, including whether the information came from the flight-data and voice recorders recovered shortly after the crash, eyewitness accounts or pieces of wreckage retrieved from the sea floor.
The military last week wrapped up an eight-day effort to recover pieces of the wreckage as well as any remains of those on board.
Some partial remains and parts relevant to the investigation were retrieved, but much of the wreckage was left behind.