N.L. chopper safety report coming

A report from Newfoundland and Labrador's Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry is expected to be made public this week.

The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), which regulates the oil industry in the province, said it will release the report as soon as it receives it from commissioner Robert Wells.

On Monday an official with the inquiry said the report is at the printers and Wells will hand deliver it to the C-NLOPB as soon as it is available.

It's believed the board will post the report on its website by mid-week.

The inquiry was established by the board after Cougar flight 491 crashed into the ocean near St. John's on March 12, 2009, killing 17 of the 18 people onboard the chopper

Inquiry commissioner Robert Wells has not hinted what will be in his report but lawyers who spoke at the last public hearings of the inquiry this fall made it clear what they are looking for.

Offshore workers union lawyer Randy Earle said the responsibility of protecting workers' safety should be taken away from the board.

"The history that we have seen here indicates that the C-NLOPB has failed in its role as a regulator," said Earle, who was hired by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union to represent its members at the inquiry.

He also called on Wells to continue a temporary ban on night flights by helicopters that take workers offshore.

That was one of the changes that Wells and the board made when the industry was ordered to make safety improvements last winter.

In February, based on Wells's recommendations, the board ordered the oil industry to make some immediate changes.

Oil companies were ordered to reduce emergency response times from an hour to 15minutes.

They were also ordered to stop flying helicopters at night

Since then, Cougar Helicopters Ltd, the company contracted to transport offshore oil workers and provide search and rescue services, has acquired a new Sikorsky S92 search and rescue helicopter to reduce response times.

A lawyer representing the estates of the helicopter pilots that died in the crash called on Wells to recommend that helmets be made mandatory on the choppers.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has not completed its report on the Cougar crash but when it does, Wells can make more recommendations based on it.

The TSB has completed a draft report. Its final report hasn't been released.