What is 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, and what does it do?
'They're really all about battlefield mobility,' says former commander of Royal Canadian Air Force
The 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron — based in Petawawa, Ont. — is dealing with a tragic situation after a Chinook helicopter crashed with four military members on board early Tuesday morning.
The incident happened around 12:10 a.m. ET about 150 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawa, according to a tweet from the Royal Canadian Air Force.
An unspecified number of crew members were killed when it crashed into the Ottawa River during a training flight, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Two members suffered what were described as non life-threatening injuries.
450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron was re-established in 2012 to fly Chinooks out of Garrison Petawawa and provide logistical air support. Its motto is "By air to battle," and its members are known as Vikings.
Randall Wakelam, a retired colonel and associate professor emeritus at the Royal Military College, said the squadron has been in existence for about 60 years.
"It started off as an army unit that flew a smaller helicopter much like the Chinook, and then starting in 1975, the 450 Squadron was created out of that army unit and has been flying Chinooks off and on since that time," he said.
"I believe there are 15 aircraft assigned to the squadron, including, sadly, the one that's crashed."
Lt.-Gen. Mike Hood, former commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, said the squadron re-formed when Canada purchased new Boeing CH-147 Chinooks.
"They're a tactical helicopter squadron, and they're really all about battlefield mobility," he said.
The squadron performs airlifts, logistical resupply efforts and medical evacuations for the Canadian Armed Forces and Special Operations Forces.
Wakelam said all the Chinooks are based in Petawawa and are on stand-by to respond to natural disasters in Canada when provinces and territories call for help.
"They support a variety of military and paramilitary activities across the country, from search and rescue, to operations in Afghanistan a decade or so ago."
The squadron also delivered vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a government website.
Alberta and Quebec are both getting support from the armed forces in their current battles against forest fires, but it's unclear whether that response includes, or has included, 450 Squadron.
The flight
Not much is known about the flight that resulted in Tuesday morning's crash. The Department of National Defence has said only that it was a training flight involving a heavy Chinook transport helicopter, or CH-147F.
It crashed into the Ottawa River with four Canadian Armed Forces personnel on board.
An extensive search and rescue operation began Tuesday including the military, Ontario Provincial Police and firefighters from Pembroke and Petawawa. As of late Tuesday afternoon, that had changed to a search and recovery mission.
The aircraft
Canada signed a $5 billion contract with Boeing for the purchase and maintenance of 15 Chinook helicopters in 2009, which were delivered over several years starting in 2013. Full operational capacity was reached years later in 2018.
Hood said Chinooks are "very effective aircraft" for flying in Canada.
"The model that we bought was specific to Canada that put extra long range air tanks on it," he said.
"We've taken this helicopter all the way up to Alert, the northernmost point of land in Canada. So a super versatile, super modern, extremely capable aircraft."
Eight helicopters — three of which were Chinooks — were deployed in Mali along with 250 Canadian Forces members to provide the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) with a 24/7 aeromedical evacuation capability, as well as tactical airlift.
