Debris shows helicopter crashed at high speed

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

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. Brenden Ian MacDonald of New Glasgow, N.S.; Capt. Kevin Hagen of Nanaimo, B.C.; Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin 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” at the point of impact.

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 12 Wing Shearwater, the downed helicopter’s home base, have told him that the crew was “a star crew, top-notch people,” and he says the chances of pilot error are very low.