A “complex web” of factors, including a total loss of oil in the transmission’s main gearbox (MGB), led to the fatal crash of a Cougar Helicopters Sikorsky S-92A in the Atlantic Ocean off Canada’s east coast, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) says.
The TSB supplemented its final report on the March 12, 2009, accident with safety recommendations calling for major changes in helicopter operations, including one provision to require S-92s and other large transport helicopters to be capable of operating for at least 30 minutes after a massive loss of MGB oil.
The accident helicopter crashed en route from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to the offshore Hibernia oil production platform. Both flight crewmembers and 15 of the 16 passengers drowned. One passenger, pulled from the water about 80 minutes after the accident, suffered serious injuries.
The helicopter departed from St. John’s International Airport at 0917 local time and, at 0932, leveled o…
