Monday, 27 December 2010:
AS332 L2 Super Puma. B-HRN.
(White fuselage, with orange bottom and tail boom.)
HKGFS (Hong Kong Government Flying Service), based at Hong Kong CLK (Chek Lap Kok, actually pronounced “Chek Lap Gok”) IAP, Lantau Island (locally pronounced “Dai Yu San” = “Big Island Mountain”), New Territories, Hong Kong.
About 10:45 AM, during fire fighting mission, while collecting its fifth bucket of water at Shing Mun water reservoir, New Territories, suddenly deployed its floats, and steadily descended onto the surface. Drifted from east to west towards a dam.
Reportedly, right engine malfunctioned. Witnessed by hikers.
Three male crew, wearing life vests, swam out, walked onto the dam, which had a gentle slope, waited for ambulances, and taken to Yan Chai Hospital.
Pilot: Pilot I (Pilot First Class) James SZE Wan Lung (33, SHI Yun Long) has nine years experience, for 3,300 hours, of which 1,900 hours are AS332 L2.
Co-pilot: Cadet Pilot Howie CHUN Tak Yau (25) has two years experience.
Crew: Aircrewman Officer II (Aircrewman Officer Second Class) Ryan LO Yiu Wah (38) has 12 years experience.
The upright helo remained floating, and drifted to the shore near the dam. Divers fastened ropes to the helo, and checked no one was trapped in or under it.
Meanwhile, another HKGFS SAR helo (grey) loitered above the reservoir.
A mountain fire in nearby Shing Mun Country Park, burnt for 13 hours, and was extinguished by 5 AM.
In the afternoon, mechanics checked its engines, and retrieved its flight data recorder. They plan to use one to two days to disassemble some of its heavy parts, such as doors and rotary wings, before another helo hoists it away from the reservoir.
The accident helo is a 2008 Si Chuan Wen Chuan earthquake veteran. Its last overhaul is in September.
(BTW, 27 December 2010 is a public holiday in Hong Kong, as it’s the first weekday after Christmas Day. 8D
I awoke to the radio news that police had closed the roads that accessed the reservoir, due to a “sudden incident”, which usually means a bank robbery, car crash, fire, or the like.)
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!xPONHX2FExqC3uQQZIVP/article?mid=3050&prev=3058&next=3044&sc=1#yartcmt
Flyboy happened to photo it when it took off at 9:58 AM, a cold morning in Hong Kong.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&q=Shing+Mun+Reservoir,+Lo+Wai,+Hong+Kong&ie=UTF8&hl=en&geocode=Fb-VVQEdlr_NBg&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Shing+Mun+Reservoir&z=14
Shing Mun Reservoir, Lo Wai, Hong Kong.
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/101227/4/lxu0.html
http://news.wenweipo.com/2010/12/27/IN1012270102.htm
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/101227/4/lxu0.html
http://news.wenweipo.com/2010/12/27/IN1012270102.htm
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