HONG Kong's only helicopter rental company, Heliservices, has been criticised in an official report which showed a fatal crash in 1992 was caused by one of its aircraft being overloaded.
The report suggests four safety recommendations which the Sek Kong-based company should carry out as a result of the accident which killed the pilot.
It revealed the only passenger had not been briefed on safety and was not wearing a safety belt or shoulder harness, the ground workers had not been briefed on procedure, and although the pilot was wearing a seat belt, he was not wearing a shoulder harness or safety helmet.
Veteran Heliservices pilot Russell Nairn was killed when his Lama helicopter crashed into a hillside during lifting work for Geotechnics and Concrete Engineering (GCE) Ltd in May 1992.
The Civil Aviation Department report found that the additional weight of an engineer who was picked up to guide the aircraft to a landing site took it over the maximum weight limit.
It said the pilot did not allow for the extra weight and the aircraft's subsequent lack of height caused equipment being carried by a cable to snag on a bush just after take-off.