Hornbill Skyways
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| Founded | 1977 | |||
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| Hubs | Kuching International Airport | |||
| Secondary hubs | Miri Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 14 | |||
| Destinations | ||||
| Company slogan | Service with a Smile | |||
| Headquarters | Kuching, Sarawak | |||
| Key people | Datuk Aidan Wing (Executive Chairman) | |||
| Website | http://www.hornbillskyways.com | |||
Hornbill Skyways is a regional charter helicopter service operating in towns and rural areas in Sarawak, Malaysia. The Sarawak state government owns most of Hornbill Skyways.
It was established in May 1977 as a private company operating one fixed-wing Cessna 421 and two Bell 206B Jet Ranger helicopters. Its business idea was to provide air services to rural areas in Sarawak, as an alternative to river transportation at that time. In 1985, Hornbill Skyways was taken over by the Sarawak state government through share acquisition by Yayasan Sarawak (Sarawak Foundation) and Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC).
They also have a maintenance hangar in Miri Airport, besides than Main hangar in Kuching International Airport.
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[edit] Fleet
Their current fleet consists of the following helicopters:
- 3 Bell 206L LongRanger IV
- 2 Bell 206B JetRanger
- 5 Eurocopter EC135 P2
- 1 Bell 430 (Operated for state executive flight)
Hornbill Skyways also owns four fixed-wing aircraft on their fleet:
Former aircraft(s)
Both of them are used for exclusive use of Sarawak top state government officials. From 2003 until 2008, Hornbill Skyways operated and maintained Dornier 228 owned by Sarawak Timber Industry and Development Corporation (STIDC).
In 2003 Hornbill Skyways took over Vision Air Malaysia together with 2 Dornier 228 after Vision Air Malaysia ceased operation.[1] However Hornbill Skyways ceased operating the 2 Dornier 228 in 2008 when both aircraft were sold to other airline company in Nepal.
[edit] Incidents
- 30 July 1993 - A Shorts Skyvan crashed in the jungle 13 km from Miri.[2]
- Three Hornbill Skyways helicopter crashes occurred in July 2004, September 2004 and July 2005 resulting in the death of 14 people, including some VIPs and Sarawak State Minister.[3]
[edit] Controversies
In a online exposure published by Sarawak Report titled "Arrogant Chief Minister diced with death!", Hornbill Skyways former corporate jet, the BAe 125 was deemed unsafe by the engineers and pilots. However, the warning was went unheard and instead of putting a qualified expert in aviation, the state government appointed their cronies to be in charge of the aircraft.
There are several concerns about the company,which was mentioned in the report,which are:
“The top management of Hornbill knew nothing about aviation at all” one has confided.
Another has confirmed “The culture was one of putting deference towards politicians before safety”
During an inspection of the aircraft at Singapore,the engineers had discovered that one of the fan blades was bent,thus causing the engines to malfunction and could cause the plane to fall out of the sky.[4]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hornbill Skyways |
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