One member of the Canadian Armed Forces was killed on April 29, 2020, and five other members remain missing following an accident involving a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. Clockwise from top left: Killed was Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, a Maritime Systems Engineering Officer, originally from Toronto. Confirmed missing are: Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator; Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Warfare Officer; Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, Pilot; Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot and Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer.Courtesy of Department of National Defence
A grim search continues in the Mediterranean Sea for five members of the Canadian military missing after a helicopter crash that already has one confirmed victim – a young sailor who set off from Halifax in January as part of a NATO mission in Europe.
The Canadian Armed Forces said Thursday that Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, a 23-year-old marine systems engineering officer on the naval frigate HMCS Fredericton, was killed in the crash off the coast of Greece.
The five missing are Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, a pilot from New Glasgow, N.S.; Captain Kevin Hagen, a pilot from Nanaimo, B.C.; Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, an air combat systems officer from Trois-Rivières; Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, a naval weapons officer from Truro, N.S.; and Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, an airborne electronic sensor operator from Guelph, Ont.
The helicopter’s crew was taking part in a training exercise with Italian and Turkish ships at the time of the accident.
Crew of HMCS Fredericton and NATO allies are taking part in the search, and Canada is sending a team of investigators to probe the crash.
The incident has rattled Canada’s military and the naval and air force bases in Halifax where HMCS Fredericton and the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter are based.
General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff, said Thursday that no words can describe the pain felt by military families connected to the crash.
“Please know that the entire Canadian Armed Forces and clearly the country is with you,” he said. “There is nothing worse than sending your shipmates over the horizon and losing contact.”
Gen. Vance also confirmed the 15 helicopters in the Cyclone fleet are on an “operational pause." While that’s not a full grounding, the military says it needs to determine what its next steps will be with the Cyclones, which it began using in 2018 as replacements for its fleet of aging Sea King helicopters.
“We will try to get back to business with those helicopters as quickly as we can, but we have to rule out that there’s a fleet-wide problem,” he said. “We’re going to do that as quickly as we can.”
The Cyclones carry a crew of four, including two pilots, a tactical operator and a sensor operator, with space for several passengers. They are typically based on naval vessels and used for submarine detection, surveillance and search-and-rescue missions.
Complicating the search efforts is the size of the area where the helicopter went down, and that the exact position of the wreckage is not yet known, Gen. Vance said. The cockpit voice and flight data recorders broke away from the helicopter and have been retrieved, he added.
The crash is yet another tragedy for Nova Scotia, which is still reeling from a mass shooting that claimed 22 victims on April 18 and 19, as well as the COVID-19 outbreak, which has now taken 28 lives in the province.
Last Friday, SLt. Cowbrough, originally from Toronto, was filmed playing the bagpipes on board her ship, in tribute to the victims of the shooting rampage.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil offered condolences on behalf of his province.
“As we await more details of the search efforts for the other five military members aboard the flight, my heart is with all Canadian Armed Forces members and their families,” he said, in a statement.
HMCS Fredericton left Halifax on Jan. 20 as part of a NATO mission to counter Russian aggression in the Mediterranean and Black seas. SLt. Cowbrough and SLt. Pyke were passengers on the helicopter and not a normal part of its crew. They were authorized to be on the helicopter, Gen. Vance said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there will be many questions in the coming days on how this tragedy occurred, and he pledged the federal government will get answers in due course.
“All of them are heroes,” he said. “Each of them will leave a void that cannot be filled."
SLt. Cowbrough, who graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2018, was an active member of the Regal Heights Baptist Church in Dartmouth and known for being a talented bagpiper.
“I am broken and gutted,” her stepfather, Shane Cowbrough, wrote in a Facebook post. “There are no words. You made me forever proud. I will love you always, and miss you in every moment. You are the bright light in my life taken far too soon.”
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told The Globe and Mail that search efforts will continue until all avenues have been exhausted.
“We will take as long as is necessary,” he said.
He characterized the CH-148 Cyclone as highly capable aircraft, designed to fly with frigates to hunt submarines, and he noted they are integral to sovereignty efforts in Canada and North America.
The operational pause on the fleet comes out of an abundance of caution, he added.
A thorough investigation will be done to ensure there are appropriate answers for the families, Mr. Sajjan said.
The Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger, and Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Art McDonald issued a joint statement Thursday to express their condolences.
“Our thanks go out to all those involved in search efforts and in particular our NATO partners operating in the area,” they said.
“This incident serves as a difficult reminder of the sacrifice that our brave men and women face daily while defending and representing our nation, both at home and abroad. It also serves to remind us all how dangerous even routine operations at sea and in the air can be.”
In a statement on Thursday, Capt. Kevin Hagen, one of the missing crew members, was described as the “perfect brother” by his brother, Kyle.
“[He] was always there for my sister and I,” Kyle Hagen wrote. “He’s been a shining example of truth, duty and valor for us. We’ve been proud of him our whole lives, he’s been my closest friend and I can’t describe how hard his loss has been for us.”
Kyle Hagen said that the military community and representatives have been “compassionate and professional.”
He added, "I am sorry to Kevin's brothers and sisters in arms for this awful loss. We are grateful for their support."
With a report from Ian Bailey
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