Again,
South China Morning Post...and this one is interesting, particularly because it's attributed to a senior member of "the family"...
Life rafts a must on Macau run
Jul 09, 2010
I wish to praise the act of heroism of the two pilots who saved the lives of 11 passengers when their helicopter was forced to land in the harbour on July 3.
It was fortunate that no one was hurt in this incident and that everyone was rescued by passing boats within minutes.
Imagine if this incident had happened not in the harbour but in the open sea between Hong Kong and Macau and passengers only had life jackets to put on.
I was chief executive of helicopter companies in Hong Kong and Macau until 2006. During my time, the business was under the Heli Express brand and we operated Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters.
Safety was our primary objective and we had an untarnished record.
I recall it was once suggested by the helicopter inspector of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department that life rafts should be fitted on to the helicopters travelling between Hong Kong and Macau as an additional safety device. This is because the entire journey is over water.
Following the accident on Saturday, I urge the Hong Kong CAD and the civil aviation authorities in Macau (AACM) to consider this matter and make it a requirement that life rafts should be installed in the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters as an added life-saving device.
Andrew Tse, managing director, X Air Ltd
I wonder if the boffins on the 16/F are regretting dumping Sikorsky for AW, after all those "untarnished" years of operation of the S76C+.