A committee of business people in the province's offshore oil industry aims to raise $1.5 million for the Flight 491 Legacy Fund, which was officially launched today.
So far, the committee has raised $900,000 for the fund, and expects to raise the rest in the coming months.
The fund will create scholarships and bursaries for students attending at Memorial University, the Marine Institute and the College of the North Atlantic.
"Following significant research and consultation with a broad range of industry members, we determined that the establishment of the Flight 491 Legacy Fund would be the most fitting way to make a contribution to the memory of the people of Flight 491," said Brian Henley, a member of the legacy fund committee.
"While no action that can be taken can erase the pain and loss the families are experiencing, we believe that a meaningful and long lasting legacy fund can provide honour and respect to the people of Flight 491 and provide a fitting way for young people in these educational institutions to remember or learn about the events of March 12, 2009."
Seventeen offshore workers and air crew lost their lives March 12, 2009, when their helicopter plunged into the North Atlantic 55 kilometres east of St. John's.
One man survived.
The helicopter was en route to the White Rose and Hibernia oilfields until the pilot reported an oil-pressure problem and headed back to St. John's.
The Flight 491 Legacy Fund committee was established by the Newfoundland Oil and Gas Industries Association (NOIA), the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the St. John's Oilfield Technical Society (OTS).
Scholarship fund set up in memory of Flight 491 passengers and crew
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Published on
March 1, 2010
- Published on July 1, 2010
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Staff ~ The Telegram
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