CH149914
Cormorant
13
July 2006
Chedabucto Bay, near Canso, NS
The accident involved a Cormorant Search and Rescue
helicopter with a crew of seven. The crew had assumed
SAR standby duties and was authorized to conduct a training
mission to practice night boat hoists from the fishing
vessel Four Sisters No.1, a member of the Canadian Coast
Guard Auxiliary. The cockpit crew consisted of a co-pilot
in the left pilot seat, a pilot acting as Aircraft Commander
(AAC) in the right pilot seat and a pilot who was the
actual Aircraft Commander (AC) seated in the cockpit
jump seat. The remainder of the crew occupied the cabin
area. They comprised of a Flight Engineer (FE), a Flight
Engineer under training (FEUT), a SAR Tech Team Lead
(SAR Tech TL) and a SAR Tech Team Member (SAR Tech TM).
The crew departed Greenwood, NS at 2120L hrs and completed
an uneventful transit to the Port Hawkesbury, NS airport,
where they stopped to conduct a required tail-rotor
inspection. While on the ground in Port Hawkesbury,
the crew contacted Four Sisters No. 1 to confirm that
the weather in the area was suitable for the training
scenario. The Captain of the Four Sisters No. 1 stated
that the weather was clear, visibility was good and
the water was calm.
The aircraft departed Port Hawkesbury just before midnight
on 12 July 2006 to rendezvous with the Four Sisters
No. 1 at approximately 2 nautical miles (NM) north of
Canso, NS on Chedabucto Bay. After locating the ship,
the helicopter used the "Over Water Transition
Down" procedure and proceeded to the "rest"
position, which is 100 ft above the water and a safe
distance from the ship just off the hoisting position
from which the crew would start the boat hoisting procedure.
At this point, the helicopter descended to 60 feet
and the AC directed the flying pilot to go-around. The
pilot acknowledged the go-around command and initiated
the go-around procedure. During the overshoot attempt,
the helicopter entered a nose-low attitude and seconds
later the aircraft impacted the water at approx 30 to
50 knots in an 18 degree nose-down attitude with maximum
torque being developed by the main rotor. Upon water
impact, the front portion of the aircraft was destroyed
while the cabin area aft of the forward part of the
cargo door remained relatively intact; the aircraft
immediately filled with water and rolled inverted. The
crew of Four Sisters No. 1 made a "Mayday"
call at approximately 0030L hrs 13 July 2006. The aircraft
sustained "A" category damage.
The three pilots and the SAR Tech TL were injured but
survived the crash. The two flight engineers and the
SAR Tech TM were unable to egress the aircraft and did
not survive.
No pertinent technical deficiencies have been discovered
to date and the investigation is focussing on environmental
and human factors. Several human factors need to be
further examined including: proficiency, crew resource
management, situational awareness, crew pairing, use
of night vision goggles and organizational issues such
as currency and training. Additionally, several Aviation
Life Support Equipment and egress issues will be investigated.
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