Cyclone crash victims to be honoured

The body of Sub-lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, who was killed last week in the crash of a Canadian military Cyclone helicopter, is expected to arrive back in Canada on Wednesday.

There will be a repatriation ceremony for her in Trenton, Ont. Also to be honoured at the same time are the five other Canadian Forces personnel who are now presumed dead.

The six died when the Royal Canadian Air Force Cyclone helicopter crashed during a training mission off the coast of Greece.

Cowbrough’s body was recovered. Some additional remains were also discovered during the search for the missing but cannot be identified at this time.

The helicopter was returning to the Canadian frigate, HMCS Fredericton, when the crash happened.

HMCS Fredericton is now in Taranto, Italy.

“A dignified ceremony was held to honour Sub-lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough’s departure from the ship,” the military noted in a statement released Sunday. “The departure of Captain Brenden Ian Macdonald, Captain Kevin Hagen, Captain Maxime Miron-morin, Sub-lieutenant Matthew Pyke and Master Corporal Matthew Cousins was also symbolically recognized during this ceremony.”

Those five are the military personnel who were also on board the helicopter. Macdonald and Hagen were pilots and Miron-morin, an air combat systems officer. Pyke was a naval weapons officer and Cousins was an airborne electronic sensor operator. Cowbrough was a marine systems engineering officer.

Rear-adm. Craig Baines said at a news conference last week in Halifax, that a side door and pieces of the helicopter’s fuselage have been found. That is in addition to the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, he added.