Transport Canada grounds Black Hawk helicopter that RCMP still has to pay for

But Ottawa-based Helicopter Transport Services, the RCMP’s supplier for two other chartered Black Hawk helicopters, won a contract worth up to $7.5 million to have the upgraded Black Hawk replace a competing company’s border patrol helicopter, complete with staff and crew, from this month until December, the Mounties confirmed to the Star.

“The third aircraft was grounded following concerns raised by Transport Canada related to regulatory considerations, and discussions between the RCMP and Transport Canada are ongoing. There is currently no confirmed timeline for when the third Black Hawk will return to service,” a spokesperson for the RCMP said in response to queries from the Star.

“At this time, the RCMP is operating two of the three helicopters” along the nearly 9,000-kilometre Canada-U.S. border.

While the Mounties will not have to pay for the grounded helicopter’s flight hours — typically the most expensive operating cost — the force said it still owes daily minimum payments “regardless of if the air asset is used or not.”

The RCMP did not specify what the minimum rate is or how much it has paid for the grounded helicopter so far.

The grounding marks the latest development in a long-running industry dispute over Canadian regulations for refurbished ex-military helicopters, which has highlighted an apparent contradiction between Canada’s border security ambitions and its aviation regulations, with the RCMP’s use of Black Hawks for border surveillance at the centre of it.

It’s not clear how and why the Mounties signed a multimillion-dollar contract for a Black Hawk that may not have been eligible for the border patrol work it was contracted to do.

Todd Calaiezzi, president of Expedition Helicopters, the RCMP’s previous supplier, said the decision to award a border patrol contract to a U.S.-registered helicopter “not certified for commercial operations” left him “shocked and disappointed.”

“It’s more disconcerting, knowing there are Transport Canada certified, airworthy, and approved UH-60 Black Hawks available in Canada for hire at a similar price point,” said Calaiezzi, who described it as a “reckless” procurement philosophy.

The RCMP and provincial governments fighting wildfires have developed an interest in the Black Hawks in recent years. 

But because they were originally designed for the American military’s use before being sold to independent operators who refurbish them, they are not certified in Canada and cannot be used here without special exemptions.

Only four Black Hawk helicopters are registered for use in Canada, three of which the RCMP chartered for border patrol after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Canada step up its border security while threatening tariffs on Canadian goods.

But in 2024, after a push by Canada’s largest helicopter industry group, Transport Canada stopped issuing new special exemptions for the aircraft, indicating it needs time to evaluate the helicopters’ commercial use. 

That decision now sits at the centre of a $50-million lawsuit launched by Helicopter Transport Services, which owns the three helicopters used by the RCMP, against the Helicopter Association of Canada, the industry group.

According to analysis of flight data provided to the Star by researcher Steffan Watkins, the newest Black Hawk appeared to enter Canada on May 15, landing at Helicopter Transport Services’ base of operations at Carp Airport on the outskirts of Ottawa.

Until its contract with the RCMP started in June, it only flew around the area in what appeared to be flight training, he said.

But on June 1, it flew to the Montreal area, where it began near-daily flights along the border in Quebec, following a similar path to previous RCMP border patrol missions, said Watkins.

That lasted less than two weeks, stopping after June 10.

Denis Pilon, chief operating officer of Helicopter Transport Services, told the Star he was “unable to comment on the terms of the contracts between the RCMP and Helicopter Transport Services Canada.”

Asserting he was “only speaking on the behalf of U.S. Leaseco Inc.,” the Oregon-based owner of the Black Hawk according to the American Federal Aviation Administration, he said “U.S. Leaseco Inc. supplied a UH-60L, which differs from the Canadian certified version, for demonstration purposes.”

Neither Transport Canada nor the RCMP would confirm the date the Black Hawk was grounded.

Transport Canada declined to provide further details about the situation beyond confirming the order banning certification of foreign ex-military aircraft like the Black Hawks is still in place.

The Mounties, however, cited “regulatory considerations” and not any “health or safety risks to officers” for the decision to ground their newest helicopter.