Helicopter sightseeing service suspended nationwide after plane crash

Regarding the incident of the Bell-505 helicopter with registration number VN-8650 carrying 5 people (1 pilot and 4 passengers) sightseeing in Ha Long Bay crashing in the sea of Hai Phong - Quang Ninh, the leader of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that this unit has just requested to stop all sightseeing helicopter tours in Vietnam until further notice.

Tạm dừng dịch vụ ngắm cảnh bằng trực thăng trên cả nước sau vụ rơi máy bay - Ảnh 1.

Plane debris was discovered and salvaged on the morning of April 6.

The sightseeing helicopter flight activity is carried out by Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (a business under the Ministry of National Defense ). Currently, the company provides sightseeing flights to many locations with 50 licensed tourist routes such as: Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Da Nang, Dien Bien, Mai Chau (Hoa Binh), Mu Cang Chai golden season (Yen Bai), Vung Tau - Con Dao. In particular, tours to see Ha Long Bay, Da Nang and Vung Tau are provided year-round (upon request), while other destinations are seasonal...

Helicopter tours to Ha Long Bay are introduced as a unique and high-end tourism product that has been serving international visitors for many years, but it has only been widely exploited for Vietnamese visitors in the past 2 years, because the new, suitable small-sized Bell 505 tourist helicopter has been imported (in 2019), ticket prices have been improved, and service infrastructure has been invested synchronously.

"30-minute tour to conquer Ha Long by helicopter"; "Super-class 25-minute seaplane flight to see Ha Long"... are introductions to helicopter tours to see Ha Long Bay.

On the website https://tructhangvinhhalong.com, the vehicle used for this tour is introduced as the new small tourist helicopter Bell 505. This service is operated and managed by the Northern Service Flight Company (VHN).

The modern Bell 505 helicopter has 5 seats, including 1 seat for the pilot and 4 seats for passengers. The tourist helicopter has its own helipad airport on Tuan Chau Island, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, serving 3 types of sightseeing flights over Ha Long (10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes).

Helicopter tours to see Ha Long Bay are advertised by travel agencies with 3 basic prices according to different flight times and seating positions. Accordingly, on the helicopter tour to see Ha Long Bay, the front seat next to the pilot is considered the best with the glass extending from top to bottom of the person sitting, so this seat is more expensive than the remaining 3 seats in the back.

Tạm dừng dịch vụ ngắm cảnh bằng trực thăng trên cả nước sau vụ rơi máy bay - Ảnh 2.

Helicopters transport passengers to visit Ha Long Bay. Source: tructhangvinhhalong.com

For a 10-minute flight, the ticket price for a seat next to the pilot is about 2.2 million VND/person. The price for the 3 seats in the back is about 1.9 million VND/person. The schedule for the 10-minute flight includes departure from Tuan Chau helicopter parking lot - Thien Cung cave - Dinh Huong islet - Ga Choi islet - Van Boi islet - Titop island - Chan Voi islet and then returning to the parking lot.

With a 15-minute flight schedule, the journey departs from Tuan Chau helicopter landing pad - Thien Cung cave - Trong Mai islet - Sung Sot cave - Titop island - Sun wheel - Bai Chay bridge - Lighthouse - Bai Chay beach - Reu island, priced at 3.2 million VND/person for a seat next to the pilot and 2.9 million VND/person for 3 seats behind.

The helicopter tour to see Ha Long Bay with a 30-minute flight schedule has the highest price of up to 6.1 million VND/person, for a seat next to the pilot and 5.8 million VND/person for 3 seats in the back.

Each flight has a minimum of 3 passengers, serving from 8am to 5pm daily.

Previously, as reported by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, at 4:56 p.m. on April 5, a Bell 505 helicopter, registration number VN-8650, carrying 5 people (including pilot Colonel Chu Quang Minh and 4 passengers, Vietnamese nationality including 1 male, 3 females, residing in Da Nang), took a sightseeing flight to Ha Long Bay. This was the 4th flight of the day.

The Bell 505 helicopter then lost contact with the command post at 17:06:20 at coordinates 2051'55"N - 10701'31"E, in the sea area of Gia Luan commune, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city. This is also the area where helicopter number VN-8650 was determined to have crashed.

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