Cougar Helicopters Ltd. posted this photo of an Sikorsky S-61 on its website. (Courtesy of Cougar)

Mechanical trouble forced a Cougar helicopter from St. John’s to make an emergency landing in July, a federal report discloses.

Cougar’s Sikorsky S-61 declared an emergency after one of its two engines suddenly lost power during rescue training, according to the Transportation Safety Board’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), which tracks aviation incidents across the country.

The CADORS report said the helicopter was preparing for hoisting training on July 16 when its number 2 engine lost power while the aircraft was hovering about 15 metres above Paddy's Pond, near St. John’s. Rescue crews were on standby when the aircraft landed safely at the St. John’s airport

The helicopter was tested and the reported problem could not be duplicated. Cougar reviewed the incident and replaced the engine as a precautionary measure. The helicopter returned to service and has since flown several missions without incident.

The Sikorsky S-61, a civilian version of the Sea King military helicopter, was flown to Newfoundland from British Columbia last year to beef up Cougar’s search and rescue capabilities.

All of Cougar’s other St. John’s-based helicopters are Sikorsky S-92s. A Cougar-owned S-92 crashed into the ocean east of St. John’s on March 12, 2009, killing 17 people.

Cougar is contracted by oil companies operating in Newfoundland and Labrador to transport workers to offshore production platforms. Cougar is also contracted to provide search and rescue services offshore, in addition to services provided by Canadian military Cormorant helicopter crews based at Gander in central Newfoundland.