Pilot mourned as ‘great student, great citizen’
HMCS FREDERICTON HELICOPTER CRASH
Teachers at Lambrick Park Secondary are remembering former student Capt. Kevin Hagen as an exceptional person who made a lasting impression at the school.
Hagen was one of six crew members on a Cyclone military helicopter that went down in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek coast Wednesday as it was returning to the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Fredericton. The helicopter was part of the Fredericton’s NATO mission when it went down while concluding a training exercise.
One member was found dead in the wreckage, while Hagen was one of five that were missing.
The Canadian Forces formally ended its search for survivors Friday, after scouring the sea with NATO allies. The Forces said it recovered remains believed to be those of people aboard the helicopter, but they can’t yet be identified.
Teacher Tom Turnbull said Hagen graduated in 2007 after a stellar school career.
He said Hagen was in air cadets during high school and was always talking about wanting to fly. “He reached his goal and made it to a captain.”
Hagen was a member of 848 Royal Roads Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, which issued a statement saying that the hearts of its members go out to his family and loved ones “as we all process the grief of losing an alumni of our squadron.”
Turnbull said Hagen was also an accomplished musician.
“In Grade 11 and 12, he won the top student for the music/band classes, so two years in a row.”
Turnbull, who taught Hagen in social studies., described him as a “driven” student who was on the honour roll.
“He was a great student and a great citizen,” he said. “Nothing but great things to say about him.”
Turnbull said he has been in contact with many of his Lambrick Park colleagues, who were also full of praise for Hagen, calling him friendly, co-operative, kind, caring and someone who always wanted to do his best.
Hagen was born in Nanaimo and grew up in Ladysmith and on Quadra Island, as well as Victoria.
Turnbull said Hagen’s brother, Kyle, and sister, Christie, also went to Lambrick Park.
After scouring a littered seascape with its NATO allies, a Canadian Forces warship formally ended its search for survivors Friday after its maritime helicopter crashed off the coast of Greece.
The search for five lost crew in Wednesday’s crash of a Cyclone helicopter was formally ended after three days, the Canadian Forces said.
Six military personnel were aboard the helicopter when it went down in the Mediterranean Sea as it was returning to the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Fredericton.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” Rear Admiral Craig Baines, the commander of the navy’s maritime command, told reporters in Halifax.
The Fredericton, as well as Turkish, Italian, Greek ships, helicopters and planes, thoroughly searched the area for survivors and came up short, he said.
“While searches on the sea are never easy, these units have completely saturated the area for the duration of the search over a known crash location,” Baines said. “So we are certain that if there were survivors, we would have found them within the past 48 hours.”
Baines confirmed the search for five Canadians service members had formally turned into “search and recovery efforts” instead of a rescue effort. The body of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough was previously recovered from the wreckage.
The Forces said it also recovered the remains believed to be those of people aboard the helicopter, but they could not yet be identified. Baines said Italian and Turkish ships are remaining at the scene of the accident to assist with recovery operations for at least 48 hours.
The helicopter was part of the Fredericton’s NATO mission when it went down while concluding a training exercise.
The Fredericton was bound for an Italian port and was expected to arrive today. The crew planned to hold a vigil for their lost comrades.
Baines said Fredericton’s crew would remain in Italy for several days before returning to resume its role in the NATO mission.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all Canadians were mourning the loss of six military members.
“Every day, these brave Canadians in uniform put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country and our citizens safe, and together we will honour their service to Canada and our closest allies,” Trudeau said in a statement.
“I also thank our NATO allies who worked side by side with members of our Armed Forces to search for the fallen.”
Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, said it was a “particularly difficult” situation for the families of those who died.
“What makes this all the more difficult to bear is our inability — thus far — to recover all of our fallen comrades,” Vance said Friday in his weekly letter to troops.
Vance said an investigation would hopefully find the cause of the crash. “In the meantime, we grieve.” The Canadian military sent an investigation team to the region to determine the cause of the crash.
The Cyclone’s flight-data and voice recorders have been recovered after they broke away from the helicopter when it crashed and will soon be returned to Canada for analysis.
The missing Canadian servicemen have been identified as Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald of New Glasgow, N.S.; Capt. Kevin Hagen of Nanaimo; Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin from Trois-Rivieres, Que.; Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke from Truro, N.S.; and Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins from Guelph, Ont.
“These proud military members died heroes, and we will always remember them,” said Col. James Hawthorne, the commander of 12 Wing Shearwater, the Cyclone’s base. “To the families of these members, remember that we are here to support you — you are part of the military family and now we are in service to you.”
Hawthorne said MacDonald was a “proud father in a house full of boys” and one of three military siblings. MacDonald was a “natural in all respects,” said Kevin A. MacDonald, not related, a Halifax lawyer who knew the missing pilot when he was a teenager in the Air Cadets.
Kevin MacDonald was an instructor and operations officer at the school, and met Brenden when he moved on to take his pilot’s licence in 2002. “You don’t get to where he did without being a quick study in all respects, not only in terms of technical aptitude, but also in terms of academics.”
Cousins was “an outstanding aviator who kept the officers of his crew in line and focused on the mission, Hawthorne said.
Hawthorne said Pyke and Cowbrough were “brothers- and sisters-in-arms” as well as friends.