The Canadian Armed Forces, working with a US Navy search and recovery team, have located remains of the missing crew and the fuselage of a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter that crashed in the Ionian Sea on April 29.
On May 27, a REMORA III remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) dove to a depth of 3,143 meters and located a large piece of the helicopter’s fuselage approximately 220 nautical miles east of Catania, Sicily. Remains of the CAF personnel were found in the vicinity of the wreckage.
The Canadian armed forces said the recovery team would continue their search for both the crew and additional pieces of the wreckage.
Six members of the CAF were killed when a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crashed while conducting maritime surveillance operations. The helicopter was deployed with HMCS Fredericton under operation Reassuraqnce as part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2).
Investigations into this accident continue with a view to identify effective preventive measures that will either prevent or reduce the risk of similar occurrences in the future. No additional information on the cause of the crash is currently available, it was said.
“While early search efforts have been met with a degree of success, the operation is complex and may continue for some time before we are able to determine that all critical requirements have been met to cease recovery efforts,” Rear-Admiral Craig Baines, Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic, commented.
“In cooperation with the RCAF, we will continue to keep the families and Canadians informed of the search results as it progresses in the days ahead.”
