A Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter has crashed into the Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy while serving with a NATO naval task force.
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The number of crew on board the aircraft has not been officially confirmed, but local media indicated that the Cyclone was carrying six people at the time.
According to the CBC, a source with the Greek government has indicated that one body has been recovered following the crash.
Abbigail Cowbrough was unofficially identified as the first victim of the crash in Facebook posts from her father and local church on April 30.
“We are heartbroken to share that Abbigail Cowbrough, who was on board the HMCS Frederiction, passed away during a helicopter flight training exercise accident,” the post from the Regal Heights Baptist Church read. “Our prayers are with her family, and all those who have lost a loved one in this tragic accident.”
The Canadian Armed Forces has released little detail about the incident, but in a tweet said it had “contacted all primary family members of those who were on board the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter that was involved in an accident in the Mediterranean Sea.”
It added that search efforts are continuing.
The incident took place during a training exercise on April 29, with Canadian Armed Forces Operations on Twitter reporting that contact was lost with the aircraft as it was participating in Allied exercises off the coast of Greece.
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The aircraft had been operating from the Canadian ship HMCS Fredericton. The vessel is a Royal Canadian Navy frigate that departed Halifax on Jan. 20, 2020, to participate in Operation Reassurance in the Mediterranean.
Canada’s fleet of CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopters achieved initial operating capability (IOC) on June 7, 2018, paving the way for the new helicopter’s first operational deployment in early July 2018.
Though the procurement process has been painstakingly slow since Canada first announced it would purchase 28 Cyclones from Sikorsky in 2004, the pace of progress has picked up significantly in recent years as Royal Canadian Air Force 12 Wing Shearwater, Nova Scotia, and Sikorsky worked to bring the Cyclone into service.
