Military vehicle in fatal accident has history of rollovers

Military officials have known for at least 18 months about safety problems involving the type of vehicle that rolled over on patrol in Afghanistan Thursday, killing one Canadian soldier and injuring four others.

The light armoured vehicle, known as a LAV III, rolled over at 6 p.m. local time on a highway that connects Kabul with Kandahar. The single-vehicle accident claimed the life of Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, 24, from Eastern Passage, N.S.

Documents obtained through Access to Information laws show the army was warned in May 2004 that "speed and driver inexperience" were frequent causes of rollovers involving the LAV III.

A two-page briefing memo prepared for military leaders said the armoured vehicle is limited in the type of terrain it can handle.

• RELATED: Briefing note from May 2004 (PDF)

The note said it is especially prone to tipping on ground with an angle of 30 degrees or greater, and should be driven in the centre of roads in countries with poor highway systems, where edges of roads tend to be prone to breaking away under heavy weights.

In the six years the LAV III has been in use, two other Canadian soldiers have died in 10 rollover accidents. As recently as September, a 24-year-old Quebec soldier died when one of the vehicles rolled into a river during a nighttime training exercise in Alberta.

Last year in Bosnia, two Canadians were injured when their LAV III rolled into a ravine.

Despite the briefing note's warnings about the LAV III, retired major general Lewis MacKenzie called the LAV III "an outstanding armoured personnel carrier" that has saved "a multitude of lives" because of the protection it offers from landmines and enemy fire in combat zones.

During an interview with CBC Newsworld Friday, MacKenzie compared it to SUVs, which are more prone to rollovers than passenger cars because of a higher centre of gravity.

Two soldiers in serious but stable condition

All the soldiers involved in Thursday's rollover were from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based out of Gagetown, N.B.

Woodfield's remains will be flown back to Canada over the weekend, military officials said.

The four injured soldiers are:

• Sgt. Tony Nelson McIver, 31, from McAdam, N.B.
• Cpl. Shane Dean Jones, 30, from White Rock, B.C.
• Pte. Paul Schavo, 24, from London, Ont.
• Cpl. James Edward McDonald, 32, from Pembroke, Ont.,

McIver and McDonald have been released from hospital and are back with their unit in Kandahar. The other two men are in serious but stable condition.

Officials say they don't yet know what the weather conditions were at the time of the rollover. It was dark at the time, though.

On Friday, Gen. Rick Hillier said not much is known yet about what caused the accident.

Expressing his sympathy for the families of the soldiers affected, Canada's chief of defence staff said a full investigation will take place.

"What we ask people to do is a risky business," Hillier added.

House of Commons observes silence

MPs rose in the House of Commons for a moment of silence to honour the soldiers and their families, while the prime minister spoke from Kelowna, B.C., where he is attending the first ministers conference.

"I wish to convey to the families, particularly the family of Pte. Woodfield, our sympathy and our deep regret," said Paul Martin.

"A family has lost a treasured friend loved one and we have lost a superb soldier and a member of our regimental family," said Lt. Col. Robert Walker of CFB Gagetown.

Eighth Canadian soldier killed

Woodfield is the eighth Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.

The others were:

• Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, killed by a suicide bomber near the Canadian base near Kabul on Jan. 27, 2004.
• Sgt. Robert Alan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, who died on Oct. 2, 2003 when a roadside bomb went off as their jeep patrolled southwest of Kabul.
• Sgt. Marc D. Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Nathan Smith, and Pte. Richard Green, who were killed when a U.S. fighter jet dropped a bomb on them near Kandahar on April 18, 2002.

Roughly 250 Canadian soldiers are part of a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in and around Kandahar.

As many as 1,250 Canadian soldiers will be serving in Afghanistan by February 2006.

In early October, a suicide car bomb exploded near a Canadian patrol near Kandahar, injuring three soldiers. A number of Afghan civilians were killed in the blast.