The heliport carried out the full scale emergency exercise this morning to test the capacity of the personnel in handling emergencies and train them with the required skills. The exercise simulated the scenario of a tail rotor drive failure after the helicopter has taken off, the accident of which resulted in a forced heavy landing on the mainpad. All responsible parties activated their contingency plans to resolve the crisis.

The helicopter was carrying 2 flight crew members and 3 passengers and encountered a tail rotor drive failure after taking off from the Macau Outer Harbour Heliport. The accident resulted in a forced heavy landing on the main pad; some parts of the aircraft were detached and scattered on the ground. Of the 3 passengers, 2 suffered from serious injuries. The flight crew were not injured. After the accident, the heliport immediately activated the emergency response procedures including putting the fire-fighting system in the standby mode. The fire services emergency team and the ambulances arrived immediately at the ferry terminal to perform rescue services, evacuate all people, attend to the injured and transport them to the hospital.  

The exercise began at 09:30 this morning with the participation of 90 people. The process lasted for about 1 hour and was deemed smooth.

The East Asia Airlines acted as the coordinator of the exercise. The participants included the Macao Customs, the Public Security Police Force, the Fire Services, the Health Services, the Marine and Water Bureau, and the Civil Aviation Authority.