Capt. David Domagala: Soldier, husband, father, friend

The Woodstock native killed in a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter crash is being remembered by friends as a dedicated soldier and loving father and husband.

Capt. David Domagala was educated at Woodstock’s St. Mary’s Catholic high school before embarking on a military career that ended in a double-tragedy last week when the 32-year-old was killed along with a colleague while on a nighttime training flight in eastern Ontario.

“He was a great man, a great troop (sic) and most of all a great father,” a friend wrote in an online tribute to Domagala. “It was an absolute honor serving with you.”

Added another man who said he met Domagala as a cadet in 2013: “I knew then you were going to go far in life and far in your career in (the Canadian Armed Forces). Dave, you are gone but will never be forgotten.”

Family members declined comment.

The crash occurred on June 20. It was three days later that military officials identified the soldiers killed as Domagala and Capt. Marc Larouche. They, along with two colleagues from 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, left Garrison Petawawa for a nighttime training flight. Their CH-147F Chinook crashed into the Ottawa River, about 160 kilometers northwest of Canada’s capital city.

A military investigation is underway.

A biography made public by the Royal Canadian Air Force stated Domagala joined the reserves in 2008 before attending Royal Military College in Kingston. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 2016 and returned to his studies in recent years. He was nearing completion of a master’s degree from the school.

Domagala earned his wings in 2019 and joined the 450 Squadron that same year. His flying career was briefly interrupted when he volunteered for a year-long deployment to Egypt as a liaison officer for Operation Calumet, a peacekeeping operation Canada has been part of since 1985.

He received a Commander Commendation from the Canadian Joint Operations Command for his work on that mission.

Domagala started training to fly the Chinooks once he returned from Egypt.

Chinook helicopters are intended for transporting personnel and equipment and have been used in response to natural disasters and emergencies across the country. Canada’s CH-147F version has been modified specifically for long-haul flights with a larger fuel capacity.

Last year, the US air force temporarily grounded its fleet of Chinooks after fuel leaks caused a number of engine fires. No one was injured in those incidents.

A spokesperson for Canada’s defense department said the Royal Canadian Air Force was in contact with US counterparts and the manufacturer, Boeing, but there were no such incidents reported on the Canadian aircraft and no work was required on the Canadian fleet.

Larouche, a 53-year-old native of Amos, Quebec, is survived by wife Annie, a Pembroke dentist, and three sons between the ages of 18 and 22.

A spokesperson for Canada’s defense department said in an email there was a black-box flight recorder on board the aircraft.

–with files from Canadian Press