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You might want to add the s-92 Crash in Canada. See story below.
Sikorsky helicopter was bound for Grand Banks oil rigs when it went down with 18 on board
Mar 12, 2009 07:57 PM
Comments on this story (20)
Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter
Officials say they can't explain why they didn't receive signals from water-activated locator beacons attached to the survival suits worn by oil workers aboard a helicopter that crashed today off the coast of Newfoundland.
One person was rescued and one body recovered after the Sikorsky chopper, ferrying 18 workers and crew to offshore rigs, ditched at 9:18 a.m., capsized and sank in 120 metres of water.
"There were no signals whatsoever from any of the PLBs (personal locator beacons)," said Maj. Denis McGuire, a spokesman for the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax.
He stressed that the lack of signals did not indicate the beacons had failed to work.
"I can't speculate on why they wouldn't have worked," McGuire said.
He said the search for survivors would continue through the night.
Emergency crews have pulled one deceased person from the water. Two life boats have also been recovered, but no people were on board, a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax has confirmed.
"There aren't really new details, but I can confirm that we recovered two life boats now, but no body was in either of them," said 2 Lt. Dave Bowen.
The rescued man, Robert Decker of St. John's, was flown to Health Sciences Centre in St. John's and was listed in critical but stable condition.
Jeri Grychowski, spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, confirmed one fatality in the sinking.
"The latest update we have is one survivor, one deceased," she said.
There is no sign of the S-92 Sikorsky helicopter, which is operated by Cougar Helicopters.
At around 9:15 this morning (local time), the pilot sent out a mayday call to air traffic control in Gander, N.L. reporting technical problems. In the last message received, the pilot said he planned to turn around and head back to shore, said Rick Burt, of Husky Energy. The helicopter went down about 65 km off the coast of St. John's.
Reports indicated two people were seen floating in the water.
Of those on board, 16 worked in the oil fields and two were crew. The helicopter was planning to stop at the Hibernia oil field, and off-load two passengers. The remaining 14 were to be transported to the offshore Sea Rose oil platform.
Weather conditions were "quite good," said Burt, despite gusty winds. He added that each of the people on board was wearing a standard safety suit – a bright orange, Helly Hansen E-452.
Based on current weather conditions, estimated survival time for a 30-year-old male in good health is about 30 hours.
"What we'll continue to do is to search the area as effectively as possible to ensure that we can find anybody who might be out there," he said, adding that the Canadian forces, coast guard, two Hercules aircraft, along with Cormorant rescue helicopters were on scene.
The identities of those on board have not yet been released, but family members are being routed to the Comfort Inn Hotel in St. John's. Several have already arrived, according to a woman at the front desk.
At the time the S-92 took off, winds were clocked at about 37 kilometres per hour. Wave heights were recorded at three metres, while the water temperature was hovering around 0 C.
Julie Leroux, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board, confirmed the pilot of the Sikorsky had reported there was something wrong with the medium-size chopper.
"Mechanical problems were reported and we don't know of what nature," she said. "The pilot reportedly ditched the helicopter".
A fixed-wing aircraft from Provincial Airlines in St. John's provided "top cover" soon after the crash, said Grychowski.
Deborah Collins, a spokesperson for the Eastern Health board, said the emergency room was being cleared at a St. John's hospital.
"We have gone into a state of preparation," she said. "We're still waiting for information."
She added they were preparing for the possibility of "critically ill or hypothermic people."
The 90-minute shuttle flights are a regular occurrence at St. John's International Airport, with rig workers typically working offshore for about three weeks at a time.
"In order to fly on a helicopter everybody has to have a survival suit and everybody has been trained in evacuating a helicopter should it go down," said Charles Shewfelt, national representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.
"We've never ... had a helicopter accident that involved ditching a helicopter in the water. There's been incidents where engines failed, but we've never had something as serious as this."
With files from Canadian Press
Sikorsky helicopter was bound for Grand Banks oil rigs when it went down with 18 on board
Mar 12, 2009 07:57 PM
Comments on this story (20)
Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter
Officials say they can't explain why they didn't receive signals from water-activated locator beacons attached to the survival suits worn by oil workers aboard a helicopter that crashed today off the coast of Newfoundland.
One person was rescued and one body recovered after the Sikorsky chopper, ferrying 18 workers and crew to offshore rigs, ditched at 9:18 a.m., capsized and sank in 120 metres of water.
"There were no signals whatsoever from any of the PLBs (personal locator beacons)," said Maj. Denis McGuire, a spokesman for the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax.
He stressed that the lack of signals did not indicate the beacons had failed to work.
"I can't speculate on why they wouldn't have worked," McGuire said.
He said the search for survivors would continue through the night.
Emergency crews have pulled one deceased person from the water. Two life boats have also been recovered, but no people were on board, a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax has confirmed.
"There aren't really new details, but I can confirm that we recovered two life boats now, but no body was in either of them," said 2 Lt. Dave Bowen.
The rescued man, Robert Decker of St. John's, was flown to Health Sciences Centre in St. John's and was listed in critical but stable condition.
Jeri Grychowski, spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, confirmed one fatality in the sinking.
"The latest update we have is one survivor, one deceased," she said.
There is no sign of the S-92 Sikorsky helicopter, which is operated by Cougar Helicopters.
At around 9:15 this morning (local time), the pilot sent out a mayday call to air traffic control in Gander, N.L. reporting technical problems. In the last message received, the pilot said he planned to turn around and head back to shore, said Rick Burt, of Husky Energy. The helicopter went down about 65 km off the coast of St. John's.
Reports indicated two people were seen floating in the water.
Of those on board, 16 worked in the oil fields and two were crew. The helicopter was planning to stop at the Hibernia oil field, and off-load two passengers. The remaining 14 were to be transported to the offshore Sea Rose oil platform.
Weather conditions were "quite good," said Burt, despite gusty winds. He added that each of the people on board was wearing a standard safety suit – a bright orange, Helly Hansen E-452.
Based on current weather conditions, estimated survival time for a 30-year-old male in good health is about 30 hours.
"What we'll continue to do is to search the area as effectively as possible to ensure that we can find anybody who might be out there," he said, adding that the Canadian forces, coast guard, two Hercules aircraft, along with Cormorant rescue helicopters were on scene.
The identities of those on board have not yet been released, but family members are being routed to the Comfort Inn Hotel in St. John's. Several have already arrived, according to a woman at the front desk.
At the time the S-92 took off, winds were clocked at about 37 kilometres per hour. Wave heights were recorded at three metres, while the water temperature was hovering around 0 C.
Julie Leroux, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board, confirmed the pilot of the Sikorsky had reported there was something wrong with the medium-size chopper.
"Mechanical problems were reported and we don't know of what nature," she said. "The pilot reportedly ditched the helicopter".
A fixed-wing aircraft from Provincial Airlines in St. John's provided "top cover" soon after the crash, said Grychowski.
Deborah Collins, a spokesperson for the Eastern Health board, said the emergency room was being cleared at a St. John's hospital.
"We have gone into a state of preparation," she said. "We're still waiting for information."
She added they were preparing for the possibility of "critically ill or hypothermic people."
The 90-minute shuttle flights are a regular occurrence at St. John's International Airport, with rig workers typically working offshore for about three weeks at a time.
"In order to fly on a helicopter everybody has to have a survival suit and everybody has been trained in evacuating a helicopter should it go down," said Charles Shewfelt, national representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.
"We've never ... had a helicopter accident that involved ditching a helicopter in the water. There's been incidents where engines failed, but we've never had something as serious as this."
With files from Canadian Press