Arctic coast guard helicopter crash kills 3

Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating a tragic incidentin which three men were killed Mondaywhen the helicopter they were on crashed into the Arctic Ocean.

The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission at the time, travelling with the Amundsen, a coast guard icebreaker. There were no survivors.

The men who died were:

• Marc Thibault, commanding officer of the CCGS Amundsen.
• Daniel Dub, helicopter pilot.
• Klaus Hochheim, an Arctic scientist affiliated with the University of Manitoba.

The Amundsen had recently departed Resolute on a research voyage.

The crash occurred at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) Monday in the McClure Strait, about 600 kilometres west of Resolute. The McClure Strait is north of Banks Island on the opposite side of the island from Sachs Harbour, N.W.T.

The helicopter, aMesserschmitt BO 105S,was doing areconnaissance mission on the state of the ice in the area when it crashed.

A spokesperson with the Coast Guard said Tuesday that weather conditions in the area of the crash were "clear, with good visibility."

The first responder to the crash site was the Amundsen itself. The crew was able to recover the three victims, and are returning to Resolute with their bodies. All three were wearing standard issue orange survival suits.

Louis Fortier, the scientific director of the mission of which the three men were part, said their deaths came as a shock.

"Commandant Thibault and Daniel and Klaus were friends," he said. "And this is the main message this morning, it's the sadness for those people with whom we've been working with for 10 years now and it's a major loss."

The ship is expected to arrive back in Resolute on Wednesday.

Psychologists will be there when the ship arrives to offer support to the nearly 80 crew members and researchers aboard the Amundsen.

TSB reviewing incident

Thibault was born in L'Islet in the Chaudiere Appalaches region of Quebecin 1965. Dub wasborn inAbitibi, Que., in1957. He was married withfour children. Hochheim was 55 years old. Heleaves behind a wife and three children.

"Klaus was a friend and colleague. We're devastated at the news of his passing," saidTim Papakyriakou, one of Hochheim's colleagues at the University of Manitoba. "He was a veteran of high Arctic field campaigns and an outstanding research scientist. We extend heartfelt condolences to his family. He will be sorely missed by all."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also issued a statement on the death of the three men.

"On behalf of Canadians, Laureen and I offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of [the victims]," Harper said. "It is a grim reminder of the very real dangers faced on a regular basis by those brave individuals who conduct research and patrol our Arctic one of the harshest and most challenging climates in the world to better understand and protect Canadas North."

"The courage and dedication of these three brave individuals will be honoured and remembered," the PM said.

The vesselhad gonethrough a full crew change onSept. 5 in Resolute.

Thecoast guard spokesperson said it is standard practice for helicopters to depart on reconnaissance missions to gauge ice around the ship following a crew change.

The Transportation Safety Board said Tuesdayit is probing the crash.

"One of our biggest challenges is that there are no eyewitnesses," said John Lee, who iswith the TSB in Edmonton."And of course the helicopter itself, which is going to have a lot of important information for us, is located at the bottom of McClure Strait so until we retrieve the wreckage it's going to be difficult to be able to come to any kind of determination as to cause or any underlying issues."

Lee said the TSB is still trying to figure out how its going to retrieve the helicopter. It's about 450 metres under water north of Banks Island.

The last time acoast guard helicopter crashed was in 2005 in Marystown, Nfld.