Nine more bodies retrieved Fuselage quite compromised by impact STEVE BARTLETT AND DAVE BARTLETT The Telegram and The Canadian Press

Mike Cunningham (right), investigator in charge for the Transportation Safety Board at the Cougar Helicopter crash site in Newfoundland, said Sunday afternoon one body has been retrieved from the wreckage of the Sikorsky chopper and there are anywhere from 10 to 13 bodies still trapped inside. At left is Doug McEwan, technical investigator. Early today, RCMP reported the recovery of nine additional bodies. — Photo by Keith Gosse/The Telegram

The RCMP reported early today an additional nine bodies have been retrieved from Cougar Helicopters Flight 91.

Sgt. Wayne Newell said the nine bodies returned to St. John's early this morning aboard the Atlantic Osprey offshore supply vessel, which is helping in the recovery effort.

The vessel was met with RCMP and emergency vehicles, with lights flashing, and the area was cordoned off.

Three hearses took the bodies three at a time to the Health Sciences Centre.

Newell said the ship will return to the area of the crash site this morning to continue recovery operations.

Investigator in charge Mike Cunningham said Sunday afternoon the priority is to recover all the bodies as quickly as possible.

He said his team estimates the task could be completed within a day.

"It's very delicate work," Cunningham said during a media briefing.

"It has to be done very carefully and it is taking quite bit of time. Right now, I'm unsure. The guys are talking 18 to 24 hours to complete the work if everything goes well."

He cautioned it could take longer, depending on the challenges encountered.

Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 ditched into the Atlantic Ocean about 55 kilometres from St. John's Thursday morning.

Eighteen people were on board the Sikorsky S-92, which was headed to offshore oil platforms when it experienced technical trouble.

It crashed while heading back to St. John's.

Only one passenger, Robert Decker of St. John's, survived.

The recovery team is using a remote operated vehicle (ROV) from the Atlantic Osprey to retrieve the bodies.

The underwater robot is equipped with a camera and can perform mechanical tasks.

Cunningham explained the ROV extracts one body at a time and then places it in a basket that is lifted to the surface.

He said the plan is to repeat the cycle until the bodies are recovered, but noted there could come a point when the ROV cannot retrieve anymore passengers and the wreckage would be brought up with bodies still in it.

The TSB announced Saturday it had located the wreckage on the ocean floor lying on its side in 178 metres of water.

It said the tail boom was broken off and lying beside the wreckage.

On Sunday, Cunningham updated reporters, noting further ROV probing had found the fuselage quite compromised by impact with the Atlantic Ocean.

"It's been broken up somewhat," he said.

"It's cracked up quite a bit. The cockpit area in particular has been quite damaged."

However, he noted, the helicopter's cabin structure, from where the bodies are being recovered, is "somewhat together."

Due to the damage to the helicopter, the TSB changed its priority from pulling the fuselage up with bodies inside to recovering victims first.

Cunningham also told reporters he was confident the helicopter can be raised.

He explained his team has successfully retrieved wreckage from different depths in the past, noting the 1998 crash of Swissair 111 off Peggy's Cove, N.S., as an example.

"If we can retrieve 95 per cent of a large airliner, which is basically in tiny little pieces, I'm very confident - unless there is something I don't know about - we'll be able to retrieve what's down there," Cunningham said.

He said the hope is to recover the wreckage by Friday.

"But again, please don't hold me to that," he said. "Things change and we adapt as they change."

Putting the wreckage in a large basket and pulling it up is one option being considered.

Cunningham said the team has been fortunate in its recovery efforts so far.

"First of all, we were lucky to find (the helicopter) as early as we did," he said. "We're lucky the weather has remained as good as it has."

He hoped that fortune continued and said he liked staying optimistic for victims' families.

"For their sake, we want to be able to complete this work as quickly as we can, but I emphasized to the families, and to you folk all along, that we have to be able to do it effectively and safely."

The efforts of the TSB and other agencies involved in the tragedy's aftermath has not gone unnoticed.

A number of people are commending the work, including St. John's East MP Jack Harris.

"Those agencies involved in the search and rescue and recovery efforts, as well as the companies involved, have certainly shown great compassion and dedication in assisting in these tragic circumstances," he said, in a statement Sunday that also offered condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives.

Harris expected the recovery of bodies would help the families in the grieving process.

Transport Canada's aviation database says the pilot declared a mayday "due to a main gearbox oil pressure problem."

Cunningham has said it is too early to draw conclusions.

On Sunday, he said the wreckage would be dismantled and taken to a TSB lab, where it would be tested and a report would be written.

sbartlett@thetelegram.com dbartlett@thetelegram.com