Cougar Helicopters Flight 91
A Sikorsky S-92A belonging to Cougar Helicopters
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 March 2009 |
| Summary | Main Gearbox Malfunction/ Collision with Water |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland, Canada 47°26′05″N 51°56′58″W / 47.43472°N 51.94944°WCoordinates: 47°26′05″N 51°56′58″W / 47.43472°N 51.94944°W |
| Passengers | 16 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 17 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
| Aircraft type | Sikorsky S-92A |
| Operator | Cougar Helicopters |
| Registration | C-GZCH |
| Flight origin | St. John's International Airport |
| Destination | SeaRose FPSO |
Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 (also known as Flight 491) was a scheduled flight of a Cougar Sikorsky S-92A (Registration C-GZCH) which ditched on 12 March 2009 en route to the SeaRose FPSO in the White Rose oil field and Hibernia Platform in the Hibernia oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland 55 kilometres (34 mi) east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. Of the eighteen aboard, only one survived.
The 2006-built Sikorsky S-92A, with manufacturers' serial number 920048, was a 19-passenger helicopter powered by twin General Electric CT7 turboshaft engines. It has been registered C-GZCH to Cougar International Inc. since 12 April 2007. The main gearbox, which was reported as having lost oil pressure, couples both engines to the main and tail rotors, and also drives the hydraulic pumps and two electrical generators.
Cougar 91 is a regular 90-minute, 315 km shuttle flight from St. John's International Airport, usually servicing the SeaRose FPSO. The flight was carrying workers to SeaRose and the Hibernia platform. The flight was under the command of Matthew Davis, with Tim Lanouette as first officer.
A Mayday call was issued after the aircraft reported zero oil pressure in the main gearbox at 9:40 a.m. NDT (12:10 UTC). Flight 91 attempted to return to St. John's but went down at 9:48 a.m. The aircraft was spotted, floating upside down, by a Provincial Airlines ice patrol airplane 25 minutes later. It later sank in 178 metres (584 ft) of water. Only one of the eighteen people aboard survived the sinking, although another managed to exit the aircraft.
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