The C-NLOPB has received an update from Husky Energy on the July 23 incident involving Cougar Flight 851 as it departed the SeaRose with five passengers and two crew on board. During the incident the helicopter departed its normal flight regime. However, the crew was able to stabilize the aircraft into a hover, complete equipment checks, and then continue to St. John’s without further incident. The helicopter was then taken out of service, inspected, verified to be airworthy and returned to service the following day.

Husky has informed the C-NLOPB that Cougar Helicopters’ investigation into the incident is on-going and Cougar has taken remedial action to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has also initiated an investigation into the incident.

The C-NLOPB’s role is to review plans and actions that Operators and their contractors, in this case Cougar Helicopters, take in response to incidents. We apply additional oversight in the event of serious incidents such as this one, and we have already established high level communications with the TSB so that we can receive early notification of any of their investigation findings. The C-NLOPB will follow up with the Operator and Cougar Helicopters to ensure lessons learned are implemented and preventative measures are put into place.

C-NLOPB Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A., APR, FCPRS
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca

Husky Contact:
Margaret Allan
(709) 724-3981
margaret.allan@huskyenergy.com

Cougar Helicopters Contact:
Candace Moakler
(709) 758-4041
cmoakler@cougar.ca

Transportation Safety Board Media Relations:
(819) 994-8053