Attorney-General and Minister for Civil Aviation Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum appointed Captain Norman Walding to be the Accident Investigator following a helicopter accident on Treasure Island yesterday. This is in accordance with Section 12 of the Civil Aviation (Occurrence Reporting & Investigation) Regulation.

The Eurocopter AS350 maintained by Island Hoppers Limited suffered an accident on approach to the helipad on the island in the Mamanucas off Nadi.

Preliminary assessment by Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) inspectors state that seven persons were on board including the pilot. There were no fatalities.

CAAF classified the occurrence to be an ‘accident’ after the assessment of the accident by CAAF inspectors.

Fiji as a Contracting State of the Chicago Convention will ensure that all appropriate investigations are thoroughly conducted and necessary reports prepared and will not make records and data available for the purposes other than accident or incident investigation.

Resort manager Robert Wade confirmed the incident happened around 2pm.

“The helicopter was transferring tourists to Treasure and nearby resorts,” Mr Wade said.

The staff of Treasure Island Resort performed admirably when the incident occurred.

“Everyone was safely removed from the helicopter and guests were checked-in into their rooms,” he said.

“Other tourists bound for other islands were transported to the mainland for medical check-ups as a safety precaution.”

Edited by Maraia Vula

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