St. John's councillor dismayed by FAA decision

A U.S. regulatory decision on helicopter safety has disappointed St. John's city councillor Danny Breen who lost his brother in the crash of Cougar flight 491.

The Federal Aviation Administration rejected a key recommendation, requiring Sikorsky to retrofit existing S-92A helicopters with gearboxes that can operate for 30 minutes without oil.

The recommendation came from a report on the 2009 crash by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which pointed to the gearbox failure as one of a series of events that led to the calamity.

Breen said the FAA's claim that retrofitting would be too expensive shouldn't be part of the decision.

"I can't see how the cost can be cost-prohibitive to offset the advantage gained from it because it is something that's been developed," he said. "It's in certain machines right now."

Breen hopes the Canadian regulatory agency makes a different decision, noting some Sikorsky military helicopters already have the capability to run dry gearboxes for 30 minutes.

"I'm hopeful that Transport Canada will see that that safety measure is required in helicopters operating, certainly, in the offshore and they'll require that adjustment to be made," he said.

Sikorsky has announced plans to make the changes to the next generation of helicopters, which are expected to be ready by 2013.