NL

Cougar 491 crash remembered 6 years later

It has been six years since the ill-fated Cougar Flight 491 crashed into the icy waters off Newfoundland's shores, killing 17 of the 18 people on board.

Memorial service Thursday evening in St. John's

A sign in memory of Allison Maher, who died in the Cougar 491 crash, is placed on the fence outside Cougar's headquarters at St. John's International Airport. (Adam Walsh/CBC)

It has been six years since the ill-fated Cougar Flight 491 crashed into the icy waters off Newfoundland's shore, killing 17 of the 18 people onboard.

Family members were seen laying flowers at the newly-erected Cougar 491 memorial near Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's on Thursday. (Zach Goudie/CBC)
On March 12, 2009, the S92A chopper, made by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., plunged into the ocean 55 kilometres southeast of St. John's. 

Two pilots and 15 passengers died in the crash. Robert Decker was the sole survivor. 

The helicopter was destined to offshore oil-production platforms hundreds of kilometres east of St. John's.

A 2011 Transportation Safety Board report indicated that the flight crashed 11 minutes after one of its two pilots reported the helicopter's gearbox was losing oil pressure. 

A memorial service will take place at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in St. John's, beginning at 7 p.m.