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In accordance with Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations, an investigation is in progress to determine the circumstances and causes relating to the accident involving a Eurocopter AS332 L2 helicopter (registration mark B-HRN) operated by the Government Flying Service that made an emergency ditching in Shing Mun Reservoir on December 27, 2010.
The investigation is being conducted by a team of investigators from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) with the assistance of the Bureau d'Enquˆ§tes et d'Analyses pour la Sˆmcuritˆm de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) (the French aircraft accident investigation bureau), Eurocopter, the aircraft manufacturer, and Turbomeca, the engine manufacturer.
The investigation team today (February 9) released Accident Bulletin 1/2012 as an update to Accident Bulletin 2/2011, which was issued on January 26, 2011.
A spokesperson for the CAD said that the objective of the investigation is to determine the circumstances and causes of the accident with a view to preventing accidents and preserving life in the future.
"The updated bulletin contains information relating to the accident as determined up to the time of issue, and must be regarded as tentative," the spokesperson said.
"The investigation team is focusing on confirming whether the slippage of the right hand freewheel unit inside the main gearbox had occurred, leading to the power turbine overspeed and the subsequent automatic shutdown of the No 2 engine."
The full update report is attached in the Annex. It is also available for download at the CAD webpage (www.cad.gov.hk/english/reports.html).
Ends/Thursday, February 9, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:02
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