Posted on Sun, Mar. 20, 2011
Report brings new attention to 2009 crash of Pa. firm's copter
By Linda Loyd
Inquirer Staff Writer
A transport helicopter built by Coatesville-based Sikorsky Global Helicopters was ferrying workers to an oil rig 200 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in March 2009 when a complete loss of oil from its gearbox sent the chopper plunging helplessly into the North Atlantic.
Only one of the 18 people aboard the Sikorsky S-92 survived. All were citizens of Canada, and the incident got little attention here.
However, a report issued last month on the crash and renewed calls by families of the victims for tougher safety standards on large passenger helicopters - and on the multimillion-dollar S-92 in particular - have focused new attention on the two-year-old tragedy.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says the S-92 aircraft that is used for oil-rig commutes, rescue work, and VIP shuttles around the world met its safety requirements.
In a 176-page accident report released Feb. 9, Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) called on the FAA and regulators in Canada and Europe to require all so-called Category A passenger helicopters to be able to stay in the air at least 30 minutes after a total loss of lubrication oil in the transmission's main gearbox.
The helicopter that crashed with 16 passengers and two crew members aboard was 28 minutes into a 90-minute flight from St. John's, Newfoundland, to the massive Hibernia oil platform when an oil-pressure warning light flashed on.
The crew did not know that two of three titanium studs that held the oil filter to the main gearbox had broken, and the brawny helicopter was out of oil - with just 11 minutes to safely land. It was on its way back to St. John's when it fell out of the sky.
The S-92 - there are 132 in the world - is made by Sikorsky Global Helicopters, formerly Keystone Helicopter Corp., in Coatesville. The S-92 that crashed was manufactured in 2006 and leased to Cougar Helicopters Inc., of Canada. Some assembly work was done at Sikorsky's plant in Stratford, Conn., and some in Coatesville, where all Sikorsky commercial helicopters are now built.
After the fatal accident, upgrades were made to the S-92, including replacing titanium studs with steel and redesigning the mounting that bolts the transmission to the helicopter, Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson said.
"In the last 12 months, we've made 21 major upgrades to that helicopter. We are working on additional gearbox improvements," Jackson said.
"Sikorsky and, from what we are told, our customers stand 100 percent behind the S-92 helicopter. It's solid. It's safe. It's proven."
While a repeat of the stud failure that caused the 2009 crash is highly unlikely, "that gearbox still has only 11 minutes" after a loss of its oil, said Wendy Tadros, chairwoman of Canada's TSB.
Every helicopter that competes with the S-92 has met the certification requirement of draining the main gearbox oil and continuing operation for 30 minutes - a term referred to as "run dry," the TSB report said.
"Every Sikorsky helicopter, other than the S-92, has a 30-minute run-dry capacity," said Martin Brigham, a Philadelphia lawyer representing the Canadian families. The helicopters include the UH-60, Sikorsky's Black Hawk military helicopter; the Sikorsky S-61 and the VH-3, which is the presidential helicopter; and the Sikorsky S-76.
"Every other large commercial helicopter in the world has a 30-minute run-dry capacity, including the Eurocopter Puma series (AS332 and EC225) that carry 19 passengers and are used for offshore oil rigs," Brigham said, "as well as the Eurocopter AS365 and EC155, and Agusta Westland AW139."
A smaller helicopter, the McDonnell Douglas MD-900 Explorer, also has that run-dry capacity.
The TSB and the victims' families want the FAA to do away with what they consider a loophole in the current rule.
A 1988 FAA rule requires that a helicopter be capable of continued flight for at least 30 minutes after gearbox oil loss, but also includes a provision exempting a manufacturer if such a failure was considered "extremely remote."
It was on that basis that the S-92 was certified in 2004 by the FAA as airworthy, even though it had failed the initial certification test.
During a demonstration with the FAA in 2002, the S-92 gearbox failed about 11 minutes into the test. Rather than redesign the gearbox, Sikorsky asserted - and the FAA accepted - that the S-92 should be certified because the risk of a complete oil loss in the main gearbox was "extremely remote."
"We are asking the FAA to remove the 'extremely remote' phrase and say flat out this helicopter, and every helicopter in this category, has to meet the 30-minute run-dry test," Tadros said.
The FAA and its Canadian equivalent, Transport Canada, are expected to respond by May 15, within 90 days of receiving the recommendations. "I can't answer how we are going to respond," FAA spokesman Les Dorr said. "We certificated the helicopter. We believe the way that Sikorsky showed compliance with that 30-minute run-dry provision satisfied the requirement."
The families of the Canadian flight victims and the one survivor sued Sikorsky and its parent, United Technologies Corp., in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
The case settled quickly, and the families received undisclosed financial compensation. A cadre of lawyers in Philadelphia, New York, and Canada were involved, led by Marty Brigham of Raynes McCarty, of Philadelphia, for the families, and James Stroud of Rawle & Henderson L.L.P., also here, for Sikorsky.
Before the crash, Sikorsky was investigating a July 2008 incident in Australia that also involved broken titanium studs on an S-92 helicopter, which made a forced landing after a sudden loss of oil pressure.
After Australia, Sikorsky put in place new maintenance procedures for the studs, but they did not immediately require replacement.
On Jan. 28, 2009 - six weeks before the March 12 crash off Newfoundland - Sikorsky issued an Alert Service Bulletin requiring that all titanium studs be replaced with steel, but it gave operators 1,250 flight hours, or up to a year, to do it.
The FAA immediately after the accident ordered the S-92 fleet grounded until all titanium studs were replaced with steel.
Although the litigation is over, the families still have questions. They wrote Canada's minister of transport last month, demanding an investigation of the original S-92 certification and asking why Transport Canada did not take action soon after the Australia incident.
"It should have been obvious to Transport Canada that the potential for complete loss of oil from the S-92 was anything but 'extremely remote' and the assumption on which the aircraft was certified was invalid," the families wrote.
Jobs in the offshore oil and gas industry pay well, and nearly everyone on the Canadian coast knows someone who works on an offshore rig.
Passengers on the fatal flight included Allison Maher, 26, the youngest, who worked in housekeeping. The oldest was Peter Breen, 55, a father of four who was a steward in catering. Others were engineers, scaffolding and rigging workers, a cook, a hydraulic technician, a medic and registered nurse, and a shipboard director of kitchen and laundry.
In the North Sea, the United Kingdom operates 215 offshore oil and gas installations, employing 30,000 workers. Canada has seven offshore platforms, employing 2,000. Worldwide, there are 2,800 offshore rigs.
"We want the FAA to look at today's operating environment, and the technology that's available, because these types of helicopters are operating further afield," Tadros said. "The question is: Are the certification standards that were set in the late 1980s adequate for today's operations?"
Helicopter Safety
After the March 2009 fatal crash of a Sikorsky transport helicopter 35 nautical miles from Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, safety investigators in Canada have called for four reforms:
Require all large transport helicopters worldwide to be able to operate at least 30 minutes after a loss of main gearbox lubrication - a measure taken from the military, where if enemy fire punctures the oil supply, the aircraft has 30 minutes to get to safer territory.
Consider extending the "run dry" rule well beyond 30 minutes, since aircraft are flying farther offshore and technology is available.
Forbid helicopters from operating over water in Canada when rough seas exceed the capability of the chopper's emergency flotation system.
Require supplemental breathing equipment in all transport helicopters in Canada, in the event the helicopter capsizes and passengers are in the water.
SOURCE: Canada's Transportation Safety Board
Contact staff writer Linda Loyd at 215-854-2831 or [email protected].