Polar bear attacks RCAF Cormorant

Somewhere in September 2020, Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant - serial 149911 (construction number 50119/CSH11) - sitting on the tarmac at Saglek Airport was "attacked" by a polar bear in the nightly hours. Saglek airport is located in the Thorngat mountains in Northern Labrador.

The bear managed to push in two windows but did not climb into the helicopter. It also damaged some of the exterior of the Cormorant.

Saglek airport used to be a military facility. The site was established in 1953 as a General Surveillance Radar station. It was used initially by the United States Air Force (USAF), one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites. The 924th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was active until 1970. In 1963, the site was connected to the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Centre (DC-31) at CFB Goose Bay, and the site was upgraded to an AN/FPS-93A and AN/TPS-502 radars. On 30 June 1971, the USAF transferred control of the site to the Canadian Forces, which closed the facility.

Ironically, the unit patch of the 924th ACWS shows a Polar bear on top of a radar warning installation.

Photos: Sylvain Mercier via Canadian Military Aircraft