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Final report on B-MHJ AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter accident published
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     The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) today (July 16) published the final report of the investigation into the accident involving an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter (registration mark B-MHJ) operated by East Asia Airlines Limited on July 3, 2010.

     The accident occurred after the helicopter, with two flight crew members and 11 passengers on board, had taken off from the Sky Shuttle Heliport in Sheung Wan next to Victoria Harbour. The tail rotor and tail gearbox assembly detached from the helicopter whilst it was climbing at an altitude of approximately 350 feet. The pilot had put the helicopter into autorotation and made a controlled ditching in Victoria Harbour. All the pilots and passengers were rescued by nearby vessels, with six of the passengers suffering from minor injuries.

     "After the accident, the Chief Inspector of Accidents ordered an inspector's investigation in accordance with Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations (Chapter 448 sub-legislation B). The objective of the investigation was to determine the circumstances and causes of the accident with a view to the preservation of life and the avoidance of accidents in the future," a CAD spokesperson said.

      The investigation was conducted by trained accident investigators of the CAD in strict adherence to the international standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Investigators from relevant authorities in Macao, Italy and the United Kingdom had also participated in the investigation. The investigation report contains an analysis of the circumstances of the accident, and reveals that the failure of one of the tail rotor blades led to tail rotor imbalance that caused the detachment of the tail rotor and tail gearbox assembly. With the loss of the tail rotor and tail gearbox assembly, the helicopter lost its directional control. The failure of the blade concerned was most probably caused by manufacturing quality issues. Details are set out in paragraph 3.2 of the investigation report.

     In the investigation period, the investigation team had published two safety recommendations in November 2011 that the relevant regulatory authorities and the helicopter manufacturer should review the manufacturing process of and perform test and analysis on the AW139 helicopter tail rotor blades.

     "Noting the safety actions taken by the relevant parties regarding the two earlier recommendations issued during the course of the investigation, the CAD has not issued any additional safety recommendation in the Report," the spokesperson added.

     Throughout the accident investigation, all parties concerned were given ample opportunities to comment on the report.

     The report is available for downloading from the CAD's website (www.cad.gov.hk/english/reports.html).

Ends/Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:05

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