As Nova Scotia flags flew at half-mast Friday, military flight safety investigators began to examine the wreckage of the Cormorant rescue helicopter hoping to discover the cause of the fatal crash.

The chopper crashed off the coast of Canso, N.S., during a night training exercise, killing three search and rescue specialists early Thursday.

"I am determined to find out what the cause of this accident is," chief investigator Maj. Michel Pilon told reporters Friday.

While the wreckage will remain at CFB Shearwater for the investigation, the helicopter's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been sent to Ottawa for analysis.

Results from the National Research Council Flight Data Lab are expected to be released within a few days.

More than a dozen specialized investigators will examine the "essentially intact" chopper.

The five main rotor blades along with one section of the tail rotor blade were, however, recovered separately.

When asked whether the rotor blades were the cause of the crash, Pilon said, it was too early to focus on any area at this time.

A summary of the team's findings will be published one month after the investigation is complete, with a final report one year later.

This is not the first time the military has had problems with this CH-149 Cormorant model aircraft.

Concerns about cracks in the hub of the tail rotors forced the military to restrict training flights to only three hours.

Military officials would not comment on how long the Cormorant was in the air prior to Thursday's fatal crash.

The flight investigators will also interview the surviving aircrew later Friday.

The crash killed Sgt. Duane Brazil, 39, Master-Cpl. Kirk Bradley Noel, 33, and Cpl. Trevor Sterling McDavid, 31, said a spokesman from 14-Wing public affairs.

The injured crew members are Capt. Gabriel Simon Ringuette, 41, Sgt. Martin Francis Moloney, 48, Capt. Ronald Earl Busch, 40, and Major Gordon Clements Ireland, 42.