The families of the six Canadian Armed Forces members killed in an April 2020 helicopter crash off the coast of Greece have launched a lawsuit against the aircraft’s manufacturer, alleging the crash was caused by its defective design.

In the suit filed in Pennsylvania, where Sikorsky manufactured the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, families of the crew members allege gross negligence and “reckless disregard for safety” on the part of the century-old company, and that it placed “sales and profits over the safety of the passengers and pilots of their CH-148 helicopters.”

The allegations in the complaint have not been tested in court.

On April 29, 2020, operating from HMS Fredericton during exercises, the CH-148 Cyclone Stalker 22 crashed at full speed into the Ionian Sea, killing its two pilots and four passengers.

A subsequent military investigation found that the helicopter’s autopilot took control of the aircraft during a tight-turning exercise, pitched the nose down and sent the chopper crashing into the sea.

The pilot had no training or cockpit indicators that warned him that the autopilot would engage in those circumstances, said Canada’s Department of National Defence.

The lawsuit alleges that the helicopter’s Electronic Flight Control System (EFCS) wrested control of the aircraft from the pilots and sent it plunging into the ocean at more than 225 kilometres per hour; that Sikorsky should have been aware of the possibility of that incident occurring; and that neither the Royal Canadian Air Force nor the pilots were made aware of that possibility.

“In the final moments of the accident flight … as the pilots completed a multi-axis, low altitude manoeuvre … the CH-148’s EFCS took control away from the pilots and pitched the helicopter’s nose down, accelerating towards the water. The EFCS completely overrode the pilots’ attempts to stop the descent,” alleges the lawsuit.

“As Sikorsky’s EFCS caused the helicopter to dive towards the sea, the pilots and the passengers all knew that they were going to die. Each person experienced unimaginable terror and fright in the moments before the helicopter impacted the water, causing everyone aboard to suffer fatal injuries.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages under the U.S. Death on the High Seas Act.

The crash and the loss of six lives represented the worst single-day loss for the Canadian Armed Forces in 13 years.

Pilots Capt. Brenden Ian Macdonald and Capt. Kevin Hagen died in the crash, along with four crew members: Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke, Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins and Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough.

The CH-148 Cyclone was operating off the frigate HMCS Fredericton, as part of an operation to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.

Defence officials said the helicopter had left the ship at 4:35 p.m. that day for training as the frigate sailed alongside Italian and Turkish ships. The Cyclone was returning to the ship when contact was lost around 6:52 p.m. Soon after, flares were spotted in the water, setting in motion a doomed rescue operation.

“While it would be inappropriate to comment on any pending litigation, we offer our continued thoughts of condolences to the friends, family, and colleagues of those who died in that tragic incident,” said Andrew McKelvey, spokesperson for National Defence, said in an email Wednesday.

Sikorsky did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

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