A memorial pays respect to the victims of a military helicopter crash, at 12 Wing Shearwater in Dartmouth, N.S., home of 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, on Friday, May 1, 2020. The families of six members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were killed in a "terrifying" helicopter crash in April 2020 are suing the manufacturer.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
OTTAWA – The families of six members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were killed in a helicopter crash in April 2020 are suing the manufacturer.
The suit was filed in U.S. Federal Court in Pennsylvania, where the Sikorsky helicopters are made and tested.
Lawyers representing the families say a design flaw caused the electronic flight control system to take over control of the chopper, plunging it into the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece.
They also say the pilots and the Royal Canadian Air Force were not made aware of the problem before the crash – and that Sikorsky has still not fixed the computer software problem that was responsible.
The lawsuit is seeking damages and recovery under American law.
Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, Capt. Kevin Hagen, Capt. Brenden MacDonald, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin and Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke died in the crash.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2023.
