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
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'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.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
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.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
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.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.