On 4th June, a Robinson R22 operated by Canadian Helicopters was on a local fight in Quebec when it suffered a near-miss with two Canadian Armed Forces F-18s; The Robinson was on a VFR flight and an approximately southern track, when the two jets were turning onto a southerly heading. Press reports suggest that after being cleared by the control tower at Jean-Lesage airport to perform a low approach over the runway, the F-18s. The CADORS occurrence summary 2013Q1197 states “The F-18s conducted a low approach and pulled up on Runway 30 at CYQB before turning left towards the south. At that same moment, the R22 was about 2 NM west of the airport at 1200 ft; there was a risk of collision when the F-18s were 0.1 NM and 100 ft from the helicopter.”

Yes, you read that correctly, the two F-18s were one hundred feet from the Robinson. I trust the military paid for the laundry bill. All credit to the helicopter pilot for landing the R22 safely after that, particularly given the turbulence which would have needed to be handled carefully

William P Johnson – HeliHub.com US correspondent