Hoist Modificatins To Canadian Forces
Search And Rescue Helicopter Well Underway

CH-149 Cormorant File Photo

OTTAWA-Two of the Canadian Forces’ 15 new search and rescue helicopters have been fitted with a modified hoist and the remainder of the fleet will be retrofitted over the next two years. The $3.5 million upgrade will provide increased safety to both military personnel and survivors during search and rescue operations.

The modifications are the result of recommendations made by Air Force personnel during testing and evaluation of the CH-149 Cormorant shortly after the first helicopter was delivered in the fall of 2001. Restrictions were imposed on use of the hoist, but are subject to the judgement of the aircraft commander.

Restrictions to the hoist mechanism have not affected rescue operations. The Cormorant has been flying SAR missions since July 2002 and recent missions have demonstrated that the aircraft has the range and hardiness needed for Canada’s vast ocean approaches and extreme weather conditions.

In December 2002, a Cormorant flew 1600 kilometres in gale force conditions to rescue an injured Norwegian sailor. In February 2003, 20 crew members were successfully lifted to safety from a damaged Spanish fishing vessel off the coast of Newfoundland in seas that were too rough for another ship to draw up alongside.
In all rescues to date, the hoist was operated without incident.

“ The issue surrounding the hoists was one of providing finer and more precise control for the flight engineers controlling the hoist during operations,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre Coulombe, project manager for the Cormorant acquisition, in response to recent media reports about the hoist.

The current Cormorant hoist is equipped with a “soft” start-stop feature that stops and starts the hoist gradually in order to avoid potential injuries to survivors. Testing and evaluation demonstrated that this feature took too much time to respond in certain conditions, such as rescues from small vessels in heavy seas.
The improved hoist is more responsive while still providing a gradual acceleration during hoists. Improvements to the controller unit and control functions have also been incorporated in the modified hoist.

The upgrade will be funded from the existing project budget and will see the remaining aircraft in the fleet refitted at a rate of about one every month. Each helicopter has two hoists and the second hoists will be modified once each aircraft has received one of the modified hoists.

D Air PA News Release