17 possibly dead in Oil Helicopter crash off Newfoundland

[tropicana]

Thu Mar 12 2009

St John's NL
AIR TEMPS 34F 1C
SEA TEMPS 32F 0C
WINDS; SOUTH at 34mph GUSTING to 45mph
SEAS; 8 feet or higher
TIME OF SURVIVAL in WATER TEMPS THIS COLD: 15 minutes maximum

A helicopter carrying 18 people working in the oil industry off Newfoundland's east coast crashed into the ocean around 7:48am ET Thursday, and one survivor has been flown to hospital in St. John's.
Crew aboard Cougar 911 were largely working at the White Rose offshore oilfield, southeast of St. John's. Two were stationed at the nearby Hibernia platform.
Another chopper, also operated by Cougar Helicopters, arrived at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's at noon, and the survivor was carried to the hospital on a stretcher.

Eastern Health told CBC News that it has cleared its emergency rooms to prepare for what it described as patients who are critically ill and hypothermic.
Lt. David Bowen, a Halifax-based official with military search and rescue, told CBC News that two persons and a liferaft were spotted in the water, about 87 kilometres east-southeast of Newfoundland. A mayday call was issued at 9:18 a.m. NT, or 7:48 a.m. ET. The helicopter's crew reported mechanical problems, but they did not know the nature of those problems.

Two of the people aboard the helicopter were contractors working at the Hibernia fixed platform nearby, Hibernia president Paul Sacuta said in a statement. He said Hibernia was assisting Husky, the operator of the White Rose project, and search and rescue crews.
High winds were reported as aircraft — including a Hercules plane sent from Nova Scotia and four Cormorant helicopters — were dispatched to the scene.
The coast guard has also sent one of its ships, and companies active in the offshore oil industry have joined the effort. A supply ship was also en route to the scene.
Cougar Helicopters, which operates the choppers that fly to and from the three oilfields in production off Newfoundland, said it is preparing a statement.
Meanwhile, crews that arrived at Cougar's base, near the main terminal at the St. John's airport, were told they could not be ferried offshore on Thursday morning.
Having made regular shuttles to the Hibernia platform since 1997, Strickland said safety is a priority, although he has such assurance in the helicopters and their crew that he usually sleeps during the flights, which take between 75 and 90 minutes.
Cougar 911 usually flies crews to and from the Hibernia platform, about 315 kilometres southeast of St. John's, and St. John's International Airport. On Thursday, however, it was working with a crew stationed at the floating Sea Rose platform, at the White Rose field

[Ed Mahmoud]

IIRC, ever since the Ocean Ranger accident off Nova Scotia, passengers on helicopters wear survival suits which extend the time they can live in colder water.


I know they do in the North Sea, I have had friends that worked there.

[tropicana]

Mon Mar 16 2009
St John's NL:
Nine bodies were removed overnight from the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into the North Atlantic off Newfoundland last week with 18 people on board. There was only one survivor.

The bodies that were removed under the cover of darkness were taken to a St. John's hospital where they will be examined on Monday.
They were located inside the fuselage of the Sikorski S-92 helicopter that was ferrying oil workers between St. John's and an offshore oil platform when it reported engine troubles, before crashing.
The chopper wreckage was found 178 metres under water.

Footage from underwater remote controlled cameras has shown the chopper to be in rough shape. The cockpit is damaged, the fuselage cracked and the tail boom is broken off from the rest of the helicopter. The water temperatures have been cold and there's been high winds and the conditions have been challenging. Investigators believe there are more bodies still onboard the helicopter's wreckage, but declined to estimate how long the full recovery would take.

The bodies were brought from the crash site to St. John's aboard the Atlantic Osprey, an offshore supply ship.
The vessel docked at the Canadian Coast Guard base, where it was met by several emergency vehicles.
Police cordoned off the area as the remains were unloaded from the Osprey. A few hours later the ship left to return to the crash site and continue with the recovery effort.

The plan is to eventually use the Osprey to pull the helicopter's wreckage from the ocean floor.
The pilot has been identified as Matthew Davis, 34, from St. John's.
Friends and relatives of 26-year-old Allison Maher, the first passenger to be recovered from the helicopter -- were preparing to mourn her death at a Monday funeral service in Formeuse, on the Avalon Peninsula.
So far, 10 of the 18 people who were aboard the aircraft have been recovered.

Robert Decker, the only survivor of the crash, is still in hospital in St. John's.
His recollection may hold vital clues as to what happened 90km South-east of St John's last Thursday
A number of those who were killed were from the Bay Bulls area of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mayor Don Drew said the entire community is mourning. In the area a number of people from that shore have been involved and there's no house, no family in the community that hasn't been affected. Many people from the area work on the offshore oil rigs, and are continuing to commute on helicopters between the mainland and the platforms.

Newell said the crash has been a tough blow for Newfoundlanders, but they are pulling together to deal with the tragedy. Newfoundland is not new to tragedy and this is certainly a very devastating thing for a lot of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

-justin-

[HURAKAN]

Very sad to hear. Tragic death.