The most important simulated training revolves around rescue at sea. With Hong Kong being the center of the region they are responsible for, their service covers a region that reaches the coastline of Fujian Province in the north and the South China Sea in the south. Any initial long range search required sees the use of a Jetstream fixed-wing aircraft which then guides the helicopters directly to the rescue scene. If the training seems breathtaking, the scene at a real rescue can be far more so, as when the worst disasters occur at sea, the weather is usually at its most dangerous. Such was the case on August 3rd, 2006, when Typhoon Prapiroon (also known as Cyclone Henry) hit the South China Sea, trapping two Chinese ships in some of the worst sea conditions imaginable. When the Chinese Ministry of Communications and the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Center requested the Government Flying Service for assistance, the wind was already at force ten. Controller Capt. Captain B Y M Butt faced a tough decision.

"As a leader, my feelings were very complicated. It was a tough decision. Due to the terrible weather conditions, it was very dangerous for my colleagues to perform the rescue mission, but if we refused to help, 91 people might lose their lives," said Capt. B Y M Butt, Controller, Government Flying Service of the HKSAR.

Thirty minutes after they received the call for help, the rescue group took off, heading for the dangerous sea area where the sailors were trapped. At the time, the ships were in imminent danger of being completely submerged, and the sailors were writing their wills.

"The visibility was very poor, less than 300 meters. We couldn't see from one end of the ship to the other. It was pouring with rain and the wind was extremely strong. The fixed-wing aircrafts were with us, but only for 15 minutes, we lost contact with each other after the rescue mission began, "said Capt J W L Sze, Pilot, Government Flying Service of the HKSAR.

It was an extremely dangerous situation with no one in the rescue group even wanting to guess what had happed to the other aircraft. As one critical moment followed another, the overall condition exceeded the worst situations any of them had ever encountered. Every second the lives of the rescuers were in imminent danger. Under such life-threatening circumstances, the rescuers were supposed to first make sure of their own safety, but with the lives of 91 sailors at stake, the members of the flying service decided to challenge the limits.

"We had strong wills. Otherwise, we couldn't have retrieved all of the sailors and got them onto our helicopters.All Sailors Rescued, August 4th, 2006, " said Zhai Hai Liang, Air Crewman Officer III, GFS of the HKSAR.

The rescue mission continued into the next day with two fixed-wing aircrafts, two helicopters, 16 pilots and 12 air crewmen involved in the mission, and, in the end, all of the 91 sailors on the two ships were successfully rescued. Wu Nan, Chief Engineer on one of ships later commented: "People from the mainland and Hong Kong are one big family. Blood is thicker than water."