Fix to software problem behind naval helicopter crash needed 'forthwith': experts
The software issue identified as a cause of last year's naval helicopter crash off Greece that killed six Canadian crew members needs to be fixed without delay, say experts on the interplay between automation and humans in aircraft.
Two internal reviews by the Canadian Armed Forces found the autopilot took control of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, plunging it into the Ionian Sea as the pilot was turning to return to HMCS Fredericton on April 29, 2020.
Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, Capt. Kevin Hagen, Capt. Brenden MacDonald, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin and Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke died in the crash.
Mary (Missy) Cummings, an engineer and former U.S. navy pilot, reviewed the Flight Safety Investigation Report, the second of two reports by the military, after its release June 28. Cummings, director of the humans and autonomy lab at Duke University, called the pilot's inability to regain control from automated software "a very serious problem."
"This needs to be addressed forthwith. It should be fixed, bottom line. Who bears the costs, that's up to the lawyers to decide," she said in a recent video interview from Durham, N.C.
She said the automation on the aircraft is flawed. "There is known confusion for pilots, and instead of addressing this problem head on, people are trying to make excuses for either how the system is or was designed," she said.
"It's very likely that another fatality is going to happen if they don't address this problem."
According to the two reports' findings, theautopilot was left on as the pilot executed a sharp turn, and as a result the software built up commands, preventing the pilot from resuming manual control at the end of his turn. The first military report -- the Board of Inquiry report -- referred to this accumulation of calculations from the automated software as "attitude command bias."
The Board of Inquiry report said these commands in the software "can accumulate to such a degree that it severely diminishes, or even exceeds," the pilot's ability to control the aircraft manually.
"It wasn't a hotdog manoeuvre," said Cummings, a former director of the U.S. navy's advanced autonomous rotorcraft program. "So something was wrong with the software code base, and if it were me, and I was in the Canadian military, I would stop everyone from using autopilot until I got this problem fixed."
Greg Jamieson, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Toronto who studies human-automation interactions, said the software issue "is a present safety issue that the Defence Department needs to immediately address with Sikorsky."
"Of course, you don't tell someone to change code and put it in helicopters next week. Yes, it takes time ... but that process must be started immediately," he said in a recent interview, adding he hesitates to advocate suspending use of the autopilot until the fix is completed.
The military responds that the aircraft manufacturer, Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and the Royal Canadian Air Force have done a thorough exploration of the ways similar problems might emerge and have concluded the aircraft is safe.
In an emailed statement sent July 16, Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirandesaid that as a result of a detailed assessment, the aircraft is being modified to make pilots more aware of when they're using autopilot and to provide more warning signals for the flight crew.
As for a fix to the software issue, Lamirande wrote that the military is working with Sikorsky to "determine the exact parameters of how to implement this modification."
"The Cyclone is a complex system, and we need to make sure that, by introducing this change, we are not causing adverse or unintended issues to other parts of the system," she said. She called the change "a very high priority modification for the fleet" that will be completed as soon as possible.
She added that in the meantime, the Royal Canadian Air Force has trained the aircrews to ensure they are aware of the scenario that led to the crash and understand how to avoid it or recover from it.
"We also made some changes to the aircraft documentation, and it now provides clearer warnings, restrictions, and limitations for the aircrew," she wrote.
However, Cummings said she remains concerned, in part because the military failed to catch the problem in certification processes. She said the situation that led the Cyclone to crash was foreseeable.
"We know that pilots tend to override automated controls with them left on," she said. "There's a whole series of accidents in the 1990s that we teach where humans will intervene when the automation is engaged, not realizing that this is the case."
Ella Atkins, an aeronautical engineer and computer scientist at the University of Michigan, agreed that the software issue should be fixed immediately.
"It is likely if they (aircrew) used the same flight control laws for aggressive manoeuvres that aren't quite like this one, it would cause the same problem," she said in a telephone interview.
Jamieson said he felt the publicly released "accumulation bias" description in the Flight Safety Investigation Report was unclear, and there wasn't sufficient information provided on it.
"It's almost treated as this mysterious force that acts on the aircraft. It's not an engineering description. We don't have an engineering description of this error, and that concerns me very deeply," he said.
John Dorrian, a spokesman for Sikorsky, said in an email the company defers to the comments from the Department of National Defence.
Dorrian said in an earlier comment to The Canadian Press that when the helicopter is operated "as designed, tested, and certified, the CH-148 has proven to be safe and effective," adding, "If requested, we are ready to work with the Canadian Armed Forces to modify the CH-148."
The crash was the largest single-day loss of life for Canada's military since Afghanistan. It also cast a harsh spotlight on the Cyclone's long and problem-plagued development, which remains a work in progress.
Sikorsky is yet to deliver all 28 Cyclones that Canada first ordered in 2004, though the Defence Department says the last one is scheduled to arrive in the country by the end of this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Local Spotlight
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.