Sikorsky S-92A G-GZCH

Summary

On 12 March 2009 at about 12:26 local time, a Sikorsky S-92A registered G-GZCH, operated by Cougar Helicopter Inc., was involved in an accident near St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. 18 people were on board and 17 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

12 March 2009 at 12:26

Classification

Accident

Location

St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Nearest airport

St. John's International (CYYT)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Sikorsky S-92A

Registration

G-GZCH

Category

Helicopter

Operator

Cougar Helicopter Inc.

Operating rule

Non-U.S., Commercial

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. John's → Hibernia

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

NTSB number

CEN09RA205

17 people died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On March 12, 2009, about 0926 ADT, Atlantic Daylight Time, a Sikorsky S-92A helicopter, Canadian registry C-GZCH, operated by Cougar Helicopters, impacted the waters of the North Atlantic about 28 miles east of Cape Spear near St. John's, Newfoundland. There were two pilots and 16 passengers on board the helicopter. One passenger survived with serious injuries, but the other occupants were fatally injured. The helicopter was en route from St. John's International Airport (CYYT) to an offshore oil platform in the Hibernia oil field. The pilot made a MAYDAY call due to a mechanical difficulty, and was returning to St. John's at the time of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and the sea state had 3 - 5 meter swells. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada. Any further information may be obtained from: Transportation Safety Board of Canada Place du Centre 200 Promenade du Portage, 4th Floor Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4B7 This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained for the Government of Canada.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.