HMCS Iroquois Was To Have Led International Fleet In Gulf

The quick reactions of the crew on a Canadian Navy Sea King helicopter that crashed on HMCS Iroquois' deck Thursday helped avert a much worse tragedy, according to two officers who witnessed the near-tragedy.

Maj. Todd Smart, the officer in charge of the ship's helicopter detachment, told reporters he watched in shock as the helicopter lost engine power and began a rapid descent back to the deck.

"My stomach dropped out from under me. These are the guys that were on my detachment, on my watch," he said.

Good Training, Good Reaction

Later, he realized that the pilot's quick actions in shutting down engines and successfully guiding the 9,200-pound aircraft back onto the destroyer's deck had prevented further tragedy.

"The pilot was taking action to minimize what was going to happen. He recognized that he had lost power and that he was descending," said Smart.

The major watched with relief as the four air crew scrambled to safety. A firefighting team rapidly moved through heat and smoke to eliminate the chances jet fuel would explode and burn.

"The crew, all prepared, all well trained, did great work to get out when they did. All stuff we trained for, all stuff that happened perfectly," said Smart.

The crash happened just a few seconds after a Thursday morning takeoff from the Iroquois, which was on its way to become the flagship for a Canadian-led task force monitoring the Persian Gulf for terrorist activity.

The ship arrived back quietly at the Shearwater base jetty on Saturday, greeted by a team of eight safety investigators and media. Families of the air crew waited to greet them in a nearby hangar.

A huge crane offloaded the damaged helicopter and a truck carried it to a nearby hangar for examination by the military crash investigators.

The helicopter lay on its side on the flight deck, its rear tail rotor ripped off, a satellite system torn open and one of its front windows smashed. Next to it, the right wheel assembly laid on the deck.

The metal cowling covering the right engine had been torn off, exposing the jet engine to the elements.

The damage occurred in a matter of seconds, said Smart, a veteran pilot, who watched from the bridge as the 40-year-old Sea King fell.

"I think I set the land-speed record to get back to the hangar to see what was going on," he said.

A Bad Day, But A Great Day

Ground crew also were on the scene rapidly and followed procedures almost flawlessly, said Capt. Paul Maddison, the ship's commander.

"Thursday was a bad day at sea, yet it was also a great day at sea," he said.

"The crew derived a great deal of self confidence from this accident in that all of the exercises they had done for such an emergency were proven in spades."

Still, he added, the crew required a day to "get over the initial shock of having the
The crash of a Sea King onto the deck of a Canadian destroyer had nothing to do with the helicopter's age, the head of Canada's air force said on Friday.

"Regardless of the age of these things, we fly safe airplanes," said Lt.-Gen. Lloyd Campbell.

Canadian Forces Debate Over Sea King Replacement Re-ignited

The incident has embarrassed the military, as the ship was en route to the Persian Gulf to be the command ship of an international fleet.

Campbell said the helicopter that crashed was overhauled four months ago, and had new engines on board. "We're not sure what caused the difficulty," he said.

He said the 40-year-old helicopters are safe even though there have been 12 crashes, 10 crew members killed and numerous equipment malfunctions.

"Those accidents that we've had with the Sea King have actually been evenly balanced over (the decades)," he said.

But the opposition in Ottawa isn't buying that line.

"Just imagine the difference in technology between a 1963 car and a 2003 car, or television set or anything," said Bill Casey, the Tory defence critic.

The Canadian Alliance jumped on the fact that the Liberals killed a deal to replace the Sea Kings a decade ago, as soon as they took office.

Since then, the process of replacing the helicopters has been caught in a bureaucratic quagmire.

"Why does this prime minister continue to put saving face before saving lives?" asked Deborah Grey, of the Canadian Alliance.

Chrétien: It Comes Down To Money

During a news conference in Mexico Friday, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien defended his government's decision to scrap the helicopter deal in 1993. He said at the time, the Liberals were grappling with a $42-billion deficit.

"We could not afford to buy new helicopters at that time, so we said No to the deal that had been negotiated before," he said. "And now we are in the process of buying new ones."

The Iroquois is expected to reach Halifax on Saturday, and undergo a few days of repairs before heading back out for duty in the Persian Gulf.

Until it gets there, the frigate Montreal will serve as the fleet command vessel.

FMI: www.dnd.ca