A Hong Kong Government Flying Services helicopter lost power in one of its engines while dipping water out of a reservoir in northern Hong Kong on Monday. The 3-person crew of the Eurocopter AS332 L2, or Super Puma, activated the pop-out floats and the helicopter settled into the water, remaining upright. The crew escaped unharmed and swam to shore wearing inflatable personal flotation devices.
The helicopter was engaged in a water dropping operation, helping to suppress a vegetation fire near the Shing Mun reservoir when the accident occurred.
Here are three screen grabs from the video, which follows:
If you watch the video to the very end, you will see a photo of the aftermath of a helicopter vs. bus accident, something you don’t see every day.
On September 22, 2010, we ran a story about a helicopter operated by the New York Police Department that ditched into Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, New York. The crew also activated their pop-out floats, preventing the helicopter from sinking.
