"That's not a mandated area for our organization," Sean Kelly said from the agency's St. John's office. "For us, we would look at other issues but which are related in some way."

The safety board hasn't determined the cause of the accident, but the pilot did report a loss of oil in the gearbox as they descended towards the ocean.

Kelly said a yet-to-be-appointed commissioner will look at issues such as the survival suits, which some offshore oil workers have complained fit poorly, and the question of why emergency beacons weren't detected after the helicopter crashed and sank.

Sheldon Peddle, a union leader who represents about 700 offshore oil workers, said he's disappointed the regulator isn't going further into aircraft safety.

"From my perspective, they do have a little more jurisdiction and leeway to at least do some review of the safety record of the aircraft and of incidents elsewhere in the world," said Peddle, president of Local 2121 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.

He said the board could hire experts to look at issues such as the flotation pontoons that are supposed to prevent a helicopter from sinking after ditching in the ocean.

The Cougar Helicopters chopper sank about 20 minutes after it crashed at high speed off Newfoundland.

Peddle said his concern over the S-92A's safety grew after learning last week that it was certified by a European aviation authority, even though the main gearbox failed to pass a test to determine if it could run for 30 minutes without oil.

The gearbox passed the safety standard despite failing this "depleted oil test" because Sikorsky was able to demonstrate to the agencies that the chances of oil leaking out of the gearbox were "extremely remote," according to documents filed with the Joint Aviation Authorities.

Peddle argued that logic is flawed because crash investigators have determined the oil leaked out due to the broken studs on the attached filter. Civil aviation authorities in Norway and Australia have also reported other incidents of oil leaks.

However, the union leader said questions over the certification process are resulting in a more in-depth review of the aircraft by a committee of offshore operators that are considering whether the S-92A flights by Cougar Helicopters should resume to the platforms.

Peddle was invited to a briefing Wednesday of the committee, which includes representatives from Hibernia Development Management Co. , Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) and Petro-Canada (TSX:PCA) .

Peddle said in meetings last week, before issues about certification emerged in the media, that the companies were focusing too narrowly on the shearing of the titanium studs.

He said that's changing and that the companies are getting into more depth and hiring international experts due to the half-hour oil test issue.

"That's what is making them re-evaluate what the goal of this whole review is," he said.

Officials from Hibernia Management Development Corp. and Husky Energy were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson declined comment.

"I will not get into details while the (Transportation Safety Board) investigation remains ongoing," he said in an email. "We are assisting with that investigation and are committed to protecting its confidentiality and integrity."

Meanwhile, the RCMP said the sole survivor of the accident, Robert Decker, had spoken to officers and given "a full account" of what he recalls about the crash.

"The information given by Decker will be provided to Transportation Safety Board investigators for their ongoing investigation into the helicopter crash. ... The RCMP will not be in a position to recount his story."

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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