1st funeral held as hunt goes on for offshore crash clues

Mourners gathered at a church in a small Newfoundland town on Monday to pay their respects to a young woman who was killed in last week’s helicopter crash.

Allison Maher, 26, and 16 others died Thursday morning when a Cougar Helicopters aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 55 kilometres southeast of St. John’s, while taking workers out to offshore oil platforms.

Scores of people crowded into a wooden church in Fermeuse to mourn Maher, who grew up in nearby Aquaforte and worked for a catering company at one of the platforms.

In a statement issued Monday, the Maher family praised Allison as a "soft, loving soul with a powerful and infectious sense of humour" and as an "extremely independent, strong and hardworking" woman who loved her job offshore.

"When she was back onshore, she spent every waking moment with the people she cared about — living life to its fullest with her family, friends and her boyfriend," her uncle, Jim Maher, said in a prepared statement issued on behalf of the family.

"She did more in one year than most of us do in an entire lifetime."

The family also paid tribute and offered sympathy to other families.

"So many hearts have been broken by this event that it is difficult for us to fathom the amount of pain and suffering being felt by so many good people. We are praying for all the families involved," the statement said.

Meanwhile, other grief-stricken communities awaited more details of an offshore recovery effort.

Nine bodies that were taken Sunday from the wreckage of a Cougar Helicopters aircraft were brought to a St. John's hospital early Monday, after the supply vessel Atlantic Osprey left the crash scene, where 17 of 18 people aboard had died.

Last Thursday, searchers had found Maher's body shortly after the Sikorsky S-92 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The lone survivor, Robert Decker, has been in intensive care in St. John's since he was rushed there Thursday.

While investigators said the Atlantic Osprey, which is equipped with a massive crane capable of lifting 10 tonnes, would stay on the scene to recover as many bodies as possible, those plans changed Sunday night.

Sgt. Wayne Newell said investigators decided to bring the bodies ashore without delay.

"These nine bodies were taken off the ship and taken to the care of the medical examiner. That's where they are at the present," Newell said.

The Atlantic Osprey turned around quickly to head back to the crash scene.

"Their intent is to remove more bodies, and they tell me more bodies are visible," Newell said.

Remote vehicle working on recovery

The bodies are being recovered not by divers but by remote-operated vehicle. The Osprey is equipped with two ROVs, which can accomplish greater feats in greater depths of water than humans can, although Nick Stoss, a former TSB investigator, said the operation requires care.

"The important thing … during this process is to not compromise any of the evidence for the coroner's inquiry and also the safety board's investigation," Stoss told CBC News on Monday from Ottawa.

The helicopter had been ferrying workers to platforms at the White Rose and Hibernia offshore oil fields when its crew reported mechanical problems.

Based on the crew's reports, investigators believe there had been a drop in oil pressure in the helicopter's gearbox, although Transportation Safety Board investigators will not know for sure what brought down the flight until the fuselage is lifted from the ocean and transported to Ottawa for analysis, a process that will take weeks.

TSB lead investigator Mike Cunningham said Sunday, though, that the focus for now remains on recovering bodies, not gear.

"We're certainly not worried about the wreckage, but as time goes on it could possibly reach the point where maybe we retrieve what we can and then bring the wreckage up with other bodies in it," Cunningham told a media briefing on Sunday afternoon.

"But that's our goal, to retrieve those bodies," he said.

'Now we have her back'

Ada Kenny, Maher's aunt, said family have been grieving but also celebrating a life.

"You could hear her laugh. You'd know it was Allison when you heard her," said Kenny, adding that she is also thinking of the other families who had been waiting to learn about the recovery of other bodies.

"Now we have her back. That's one of the most important things," she said before the funeral began. "[I am] sorry for all the other families. I pray they find their loved ones."

Rev. Ed Sutton, the priest who was asked to perform the funeral service, said he never knew Maher in life, but has been trying to know her in death.

Maher had moved to the St. John's area for her job, although Sutton said the turnout at her wake this weekend showed him how she held on to ties with family and friends back home.

"There were so many people there and so many of the young people were crying and holding one another. So it was difficult to hear the stories," Sutton said.

Helicopter's pilot identified

RCMP have identified the name of the helicopter's pilot. Capt. Matthew William Thomas Davis, 34, lived in St. John's.

Most of the other deceased lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, with three living in other provinces. The names released by the RCMP so far are:

• Corey Eddy, 32, of Paradise, formerly of Sibley's Cove.
• John Pelley, 41, of Deer Lake.
• Tim Lanouette, 48, Comox, B.C., the first officer on the helicopter.
• Peter Breen, 55, St. John's.
• Gary Corbett, 46, Conception Bay South.
• Wade Drake, 42, Fortune.
• Wade Duggan, 32, Witless Bay.
• Colin Henley, 38, St. John's.
• Ken MacRae, 47, Greenwood, N.S.
• Derrick Mullowney, 51, Bay Bulls.
• Burch Nash, 44, Fortune.
• Paul Pike, 49, Spaniard's Bay.
• Allison Maher, 26, Mount Pearl, formerly of Aquaforte.
• Thomas Anwyll, 46, Langley, B.C.

The families of the remaining two passengers who are presumed deceased have not yet given their consent to releasing their names, police said.

Great care needed for raising chopper

A massive crane will be used to lift the fuselage of the helicopter, although Cunningham noted that the chopper was significantly damaged during the crash and that the work will need to proceed with care.

Investigators have already recovered some parts, including the main entrance door, a cargo door at the aft, and an emergency exit door.

TSB investigator Doug McEwen said that information should help piece together what happened in the flight's final minutes.

"What we have so far is the upper and lower entrance door," he said.

"[With] the lower door, the locking system is in the locked position and the upper part of the door, the handle is in the open position," said McEwan, adding that the emergency exit door was intact.

Decker, who had worked in the offshore oil industry as an ice spotter, was revived briefly on Friday, his family said in a weekend statement, although he remains on a ventilator and has been unable to communicate with his family or others.

St. John's-based Cougar Helicopters has suspended its flights to and from the platforms working at three oilfields in production more than 300 kilometres off Newfoundland's east coast.

For now, crews at the platforms are being transported by sea.