ENG10RA063

On July 3, 2010, a Sky-Shuttle Helicopter AugustaWestland AW139 helicopter, operated as East Asia Airlines, registration number B-MHJ, experienced a tail rotor and tailrotor gearbox separation over Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong shortly after departure from the Hong Kong-Sky Shuttle Heliport. The flight crew reported hearing a loud bang and had no pedal authority. The flight crew performed an autorotation into Victoria Harbor. All thirteen occupants on board exited the helicopter after ditching. The helicopter, tail rotor assembly and tailrotor gearbox were recovered with the exception of one of the tail rotor blades. Examination of the tail rotor blade hub revealed that the white blade had separated at the blade root area. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Hong Kong. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: HONG KONG Civil Aviation Department Queensway Government Offices, 46th Floor 66 Queensway Hong Kong China Tel.: (852) 2-867 4332 E-mail: cadadmin@vol.net Fax: (852) 2-869 0093 AFTN: VHHHYAYX Telex: 61361 CADHK HX This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information obtained for, or released by, the Government of Hong Kong.