A Florida woman was slightly injured when the emergency life raft from an RCAF CH-146 Griffon helicopter detached and fell through the roof of her house and landed on the bed where she was sleeping. It appears the roof and ceiling of the building broke the fall of the 35-kilogram inflatable boat and it didn’t hit the bed with much force. It naturally scared the woman but she recovered sufficiently to give television interviews a short time after the incident. U.S. and Canadian authorities were on the scene a short time later.
There has so far been no explanation from the RCAF about how the raft came loose from the CH-146, a militarized Bell 412. It’s also not clear how high it was when the rubber bundle left the aircraft. The helicopter is in Florida on a search and rescue training mission because the weather is too cold in Canada to conduct the training. The aircraft was on its way back to its temporary base at Opa Locka when the incident occurred. The RCAF says its Directorate of Flight Safety is investigating and the injured woman is being looked after. The RCAF “intends to support the affected resident with immediate accommodations and other support.”