Helicopter problem worries N.L. offshore workers

A problem with helicopters used to ferry offshore oil industry workers in Britain has raised a red flag for people working in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore industry, where the same Sikorsky S-92 helicopters are used.

"It's very worrisome. When you're talking the main gearbox and the possibility of it dislodging itself from the airframe in flight, you have to be worried about it," said Sheldon Peddle.

In a letter to operators on Oct. 7, Sikorsky said cracks have appeared in footing bolts that attach the main gearbox to the S-92s fuselage. Thereported cracks haveoccurred only on S-92s that ferry European offshore works to platforms in the North Sea.

But that's cold comfort for offshore workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, where a Sikorsky S-92 crashed off the coast of Newfoundland killing 17 people last March.

Peddle says the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Unionhas written a letter to oil companies that operate in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore. The union is asking for answers about Sikorsky S-92 helicopters they use.

"Apparently they've had this problem since January and we're only finding out about it now," said Peddle.

Sikorsky representative Paul Jackson told CBC News there have been no reports of any cracking in the gearbox footings in the helicopters used in Newfoundland and Labrador, or anywhere else outside the North Sea.

Engineers investigate

He said Sikorsky doesn't know what is causing the problem and that's why ateam of engineers has been dispatched to look at the helicopters used over the North Sea.

Jackson said that even with a detached footing, a helicopter can still fly for a minimum of 10 hours.

In Scotland, where cracks were found in the Sikorsky S-92 footing bolts, testing is being done on helicopters there to try to determine what has gone wrong.

Union officials there say Newfoundland and Labrador offshore workers should be asking for the same kind of inspections that are being done on North Sea helicopters.

"Non-destructive testing, theX-raying of these bolts after 10 hours rather than visual inspections," said Jake Molloy of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Helicopters that service the North Sea take off and land more than the helicopters used in Newfoundland and Labrador. Molloy says his members believe the problem maybe be linked to the stress of frequent landings and takeoffs.