ST..JOHNS (CBC) - A problem with Sikorsky S-92A helicopters one that was believed to be limited to S-92A choppers used in the European offshore oil industry has been found in a Halifax-based S-92A.

Its the same type of helicopter that crashed into the ocean 55 kilometers southeast of St. Johns last winter, killing 17 of the 18 offshore oil industry workers aboard.

Cougar Helicopters Limited, the company that operated the Sikorsky S-92A that crashed near Newfoundland and Labrador March 12, reported Monday that a crack has been found in a gearbox footing on one of the S-92As it operates in Halifax.

"During a scheduled inspection of the main gearbox feet of a S-92A Cougar engineers identified a single hairline crack in the right-hand mounting foot of the main gearbox," said a Cougar Helicopters news release.

Four feet attach the main gearbox to the body of the helicopter. The gearbox drives the chopper's main rotor blades.

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency directive on Oct 24. saying cracks were been found in parts of the Sikorsky S-92A that attach the main gearbox to the chopper's body.

In one case, a gearbox foot was completely detached from a chopper.

EASA says the problem could lead to loss of control of the helicopter.

Until Monday, Sikorsky said the problem had only been found in helicopters working in the European offshore oil industry, ferrying workers to oil platforms in the North Sea.

After discovering the gearbox footing problems, Sikorsky and the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency ordered all S-92A operators to inspect gearbox feet after every 10 hours of flight. Cougar says it has been exceeding that and inspecting footings after every flight.

Cougar says it has notified all of its customers and is working with the manufacturer to try to determine what caused the crack.

The company says the helicopter was operated safely before the crack was found.

It says the main gearbox of the affected aircraft has been removed and will be replaced.

Following the crash of Cougar flight 491 last March, the Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board established an inquiry into offshore helicopter safety.

It is being led by Robert Wells, a retired Supreme Court judge.

Wells is hearing from witnesses this fall and coming winter.

The sole survivor of flight 491, Robert Decker, is scheduled to testify about his ordeal Thursday, Nov. 6. He has never spoken publicly about what happened on March 12.