Memorial recognizing helicopter crash victims moving forward

 A new memorial to honour those killed in two tragic helicopter crashes is set to be finished in February 2014, five years after Cougar flight 491 crashed into the North Atlantic.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador has set aside $330,000 to create a memorial for the victims of Cougar 491 and the Universal helicopter crash of March 1985.

Seventeen people lost their lives in 2009, after the Cougar helicopter they were travelling in ditched while en route to the White Rose oil field and the Hibernia platform.

On Mar. 13, 1985, six offshore oil industry workers died when a Bell helicopter crashed after leaving the Bowdrill I oil rig in Placentia Bay.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is now accepting proposals and design ideas for the memorial.

Danny Breen lost his brother, Peter in the Cougar crash, and is pleased that movement has begun. 

Breen said he has an idea of what he'd like to see. 

"Something where people and families can sit and relax and enjoy the area ... and at the same time remember not just the incident, but the people who were lost and the lives lost in the incident," Breen said.

"I think it's also important for the memorial to be located in a very public and accessible location, so it can be utilized year-round."

The provincial government first discussed the memorial in the immediate wake of the Mar. 12, 2009 crash.

The memorial will be located in St. John's. The site has not yet been announced.