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| Date: | Thursday 13 July 2006 |
| Time: | 03:30 UTC |
| Type: |  AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant (EH101-511) |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) |
| Registration: | 149914 |
| MSN: | 50134/CSH14 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2003 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Chedabucto Bay, 3nm north of Canso, NS -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | CAF Greenwood, NS |
| CAF Greenwood, NS |
Tusker 914, Royal Canadian Air Force AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant (EH101-511), operated by 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron / 14 Wing, with a crew of seven was on a training mission to practice night boat hoists from the fishing vessel Four Sisters No.1, Chedabucto Bay, 3nm north of Canso, Nova Scotia.
The accident occurred during an attempted go-around from an approach to a fishing vessel. During the go-around the helicopter entered a nose-low attitude and seconds later the aircraft impacted the water with 69 knots forward speed in an 18 degree nose-down attitude.
The three pilots and the SAR Tech TL were injured but survived the crash. The two flight engineers and the SAR Tech Team member were unable to egress the aircraft and did not survive. The aircraft sustained damage beyond economical repair.
The environmental conditions (darkness, distant dim horizon and calm water) were not suitable for continued flight using outside references only. The nose down attitude and descent was not noticed by any of the three pilots in the low visual cueing environment because they did not adequately reference their flight instruments.
The investigation also found that prolonged training restrictions imposed due to on-going tail-rotor half-hub cracking had a serious detrimental effect on overall CH149 aircrew proficiency, particularly at 413(TR) Squadron. The resultant risk to operational airworthiness was underestimated and not effectively mitigated.
Although the four cabin area crew members survived the impact, only one was able to successfully egress the aircraft before his air supply was exhausted. Survivability issues included cabin layout, storage of equipment, and the suitability of the Aircraft Life Support Equipment.
The crew did have an Emergency Breathing System (except for the SAR tech's as the EBS was not compatible with their life vest so was stored near there seats).
Also a factor was the lack of detailed information in the Cormorant Standard Manoeuvre Manual describing the specific duties, techniques and procedures to be used by Cormorant crews.
The Air Force has already implemented a number of preventive measures recommended in the report. These include: confirmation of the co-pilot’s duties and over-water procedures; increased communication with respect to altitude, airspeed and situational awareness as part of cockpit procedures; and shifting seats and equipment inside the cabin of the Cormorant to provide greater access to emergency exits.
“Although the report recommends 26 preventive measures, the Air Force has in fact already
initiated over 60 actions to improve the safety of our Search and Rescue personnel,” said Brigadier-General Yvan Blondin, Deputy Commander of Force Generation for the Air Force.
Sources:
2006A0511
Scramble 328
https://skiesmag.com/news/article/Crash-of-Cormorant-helicopter-commemorated
https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2008/03/release-flight-safety-investigation-report-july-13-2006-crash-cormorant-helicopter-ch149914.html
http://milnewstbay.pbworks.com/f/CH149914-2.pdf
Media:
(SAR) # 613 Flight Safety Investigation Report (FSIR) CH 149 Cormorant, 13 July 2006 “A” Category Accident, Loss of Life, 413Transport and Rescue Squadron, @ARC_RCAF @RCAF_ARC @CASARA_National @HerosofCanada @PEICorey @FlightGlobal @AviationSafety @Aerossurance pic.twitter.com/ilNp4O3Npf
— Pat Hort (@Pathort1) July 13, 2020
#OTD 2006: #RCAF Cormorant CH149914 entered nose down attitude during GA during night hoist training. Impacted sea at 69 kts, 18 deg nose down. Three fatalities. Survivability lessons identified. https://t.co/eAegj2G2nZ#sar #searchandrescue #military #accident pic.twitter.com/5KJe56dKYv
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) July 13, 2024
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Dec-2009 11:25 | TB | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2009 05:36 | TB | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2009 06:24 | TB | Updated |
| 13-Feb-2010 10:11 | TB | Updated [Source, ] |
| 14-Feb-2010 02:53 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 12-Mar-2010 01:57 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 18-Aug-2010 13:45 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 20-Jan-2012 13:00 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 17-Mar-2013 17:41 | TB | Updated [Cn, Operator, Source, ] |
| 06-Apr-2013 12:05 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Apr-2016 16:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Apr-2016 16:49 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 24-Aug-2016 07:18 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, ] |
| 12-Nov-2018 20:21 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 13-Nov-2019 19:59 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 25-Dec-2019 19:39 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 13-Jul-2020 07:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Operator, ] |
| 13-Jul-2020 07:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 19-Nov-2020 10:12 | Sycak | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Embed code, Operator, ] |
| 16-Jul-2021 13:42 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 11-Mar-2022 09:39 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Oct-2022 16:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Category, ] |
| 19-Oct-2022 16:30 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Category, ] |
| 13-Jul-2024 08:33 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, ] |
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