Ottawa must pay for problem that caused deadly Greece military helicopter crash

Ottawa –

A software issue that caused a Canadian military helicopter to crash off the coast of Greece in 2020 will be fixed at the federal expense.

The Pentagon and Sikorsky Aircraft, which manufactures the military’s Cyclone helicopters, say they have reached an agreement to address the remaining fleet’s software issues.

But Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Ramilande said Canada would ultimately pay for the upgrade as it fell out of the original $3.1 billion contract with Sikorsky to purchase 28 helicopters. I’m here.

On April 29, 2020, six members of the Canadian Forces were killed when the autopilot of the Canadian Forces Cyclone (codenamed Stalker 22) took control of the helicopter and sank it in the Ionian Sea.

The crash put a harsh spotlight on Cyclone’s long-problem-plagued development. More recently, tail cracks were found on the rest of the fleet.

Their repair is being carried out at Sikorsky’s expense.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published on March 3, 2023.