The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has suspended all helitours following Wednesday’s crash of a Bell 505 into Ha Long Bay in the northeast section of the country, killing all five aboard. The 505, operated by state-owned Vietnam Helicopter unit Northern Vietnam Helicopter (VNH North), went down five minutes after takeoff at approximately 5:04 p.m. local time.
VNH North began aerial tours of the area in a pair of 505s delivered in 2019. The 10- to 30-minute tours range in price from $107 to $314 per passenger. Ha Long Bay is a Unesco World Heritage Site and the most popular tourist attraction in Vietnam with up to 16 million visitors annually. Van Don International Airport, which opened in 2018, is less than an hour's drive away. The accident flight was believed to be on a 10-minute tour following a route along local islands in the area. The helicopter wreckage was found near Hon Dep Island Thursday morning.
VNH North provides utility and transport services across several industries such as oil and gas, tourism, air ambulance, search-and-rescue, and VIP transportation. In addition to air tours, the company used its 505s for point-to-point transfers from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, charter flights, wedding photography, and aerial surveys.