Helicopter crash Kauai
 

A tour helicopter crashed today on Kauai.

It was a Heli USA helicopter.

3 dead, 4 critically injured

Visibility was good.

Pilot had radioed in that he had hydraulic problems.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

I just read this in the Honolulu Advertiser online. It is very sad.

A helicopter tour has never really been within my travel budget (and I also do not like them because I have been in somewhat remote locales to which I walked and had the silence shattered by a helicopter overhead) but now I will probably never go on a helicopter...there are just too many crashes for me to feel comfortable with it.

This was a helo from Princeville airport.

Evidently the pilot had radioed in that he had hydraulic problems. He made it back to the airport & crashed there.

No news yet whether the pilot is one of those that died. At least he made it back to the airport or all on board may have died.

Below is the link to the Advertiser article. These crashes are either from pilot error or mechanical failure. This appears to be from mechanical failure. I hope this tragedy helps spur the FAA to adopt the stricter safety regulations recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board this year, including stricter maintenance requirements.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...WS01/702140392

Update at link below. Unfortunately now four fatalities, including the pilot.


http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...480736912.html

I knew air tours were popular, but had no idea that 1 in 10 took an air tour.

From the article:

"Air tours represent one of Hawai'i's most popular attractions. About one in 10 tourists who visited the Islands in 2005 took an air tour, state tourism officials said.

That is more than 750,000 passengers paying about $200 for a typical 45-minute ride."

Another fatal crash yesterday, March 8, 2007. Tour helicopters continue to have a very bad safety record. 1 in 10 tourists visiting Hawaii are putting their lives at serious risk !

ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRINCEVILLE, Hawaii - Three people were killed and four critically injured Thursday in a tour helicopter crash on Kauai, the mayor's office said.

The crash occurred at Princeville Airport at about 3 p.m., shortly after a Heli-USA Airways helicopter pilot radioed that he was having problems with the aircraft's hydraulics, according to a statement by Kauai Fire Chief Robert Westerman.

A terrible tragedy, but put this into perspective. This company has had 2, count 'em, 2 fatal crashes while only carrying a million passengers. I wish our highways were half as safe. This only makes the news because it is so rare.

Flew with this company several years ago on Kaua`i and feel for the victims and survivors. Reply to <font color="blue">rm mn<font color="black">, unfortunately both crashes involve flights originating from the same heliport. Recall first crash seemed complicated by other factors. </font></font>

The first Heli USA crash was due to pilot error. The pilot was from Houston where he had been a news traffic pilot and therefore had no experience flying in Hawaii's weather. He flew into a raging thunderstorm, when more experienced tour pilots avoided it.

There are varying standards of safety amongst tour helicopter services in Hawaii and you can improve your odds by asking some questions that I got from a Hawaii safety guide:

• Ask about the cancellation policy in case of bad weather.Even in a rainstorm, copters often fly, because tour operators don’t want to lose the business.

• Check the weather conditions before you fly. Don’t be shy about canceling if you’re concerned about the
weather.

• Ask specifically what kind of instrumentation the helicopter has. It should be sufficient to allow the pilot to navigate during heavy rain, low cloud cover, or other hazardous weather conditions. And remember: these conditions can pop up suddenly.

• Make sure that the company operates under FAA Part 135 certification. In order to maintain a certificate of this type, the company must follow a rigorous and expensive maintenance program and its pilots must pass annual flight tests not required of companies operating only under Part 91 of Federal Aviation Regulations.

• Vet your pilot. Who will be piloting your flight? An ad that hypes the number of flying hours logged by the company tells you nothing about the flying experience of an individual pilot. Not every pilot who qualifies for a helicopter license has had extensive experience with a given island’s terrain or its microweather.

• Ask about the ability of the pilot and the aircraft to deal with poor weather conditions. Is the pilot instrument rated? Has he or she had specific microweather training in Hawaii? If so, how extensive?

• Make sure the helicopter you will be flying on has emergency floats on the skids. Even if you are wearing a life vest, the floats are still necessary to allow you time to get out of the helicopter.

http://tinyurl.com/3b44zg

it is the 5th fatal helicopter crash on Kauai in 4 years.

&quot;This only makes the news because it is so rare.&quot;

Just think, if the people followed stricter proposed rules perhaps these would be &quot;so rare&quot; as to never happen!

Tour helicopter crashes in Hawaii are not rare. They are far too frequent. This list is just for 1992 to 2003.

Recent fatal air-tour crashes in Hawai'i

• July 23, 2003: A Jack Harter Helicopters Bell 206B crashes at Mount Wai'ale'ale, Kaua'i, killing five.

• June 15, 2003: Three tourists and a pilot are killed when a Tropical Helicopters Hughes 500 crashes in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The cause remains under investigation.

• Aug. 25, 2000: A Big Island Air Piper Chieftain plane ditches in the ocean off Hilo. The pilot and seven passengers survive, one passenger dies. The NTSB cites loss of engine power and an engine fire.

• July 21, 2000: A Blue Hawaiian Tours helicopter crashes in '?ao Valley on Maui, killing seven. The NTSB cites pilot error for flying into cloudy weather.

• Sept. 25, 1999: A Big Island Air Piper Chieftain plane crashes on the slopes of Mauna Loa on the Big Island, killing all 10 aboard. The NTSB cites pilot error for flying into bad weather, improper navigation and disregard for standard operating procedures.

• June 25, 1998: A Eurocopter aircraft operated by 'Ohana Helicopters smashes into a mountainside at Mount Wai'ale'ale, Kaua'i, killing six. The NTSB cites pilot error for flying into bad weather.

• July 14, 1994: A Papillon Helicopters Aerospatiale Astar crashes into the ocean off Kaua'i's Na Pali Coast, killing three of seven people aboard. The NTSB cites engine failure.

• April 18, 1994: An Interisland Helicopters craft crashes near Hanapepe Valley on Kaua'i, killing one and injuring four. The NTSB cites engine failure.

• Jan. 25, 1993: A Kainoa Aviation Hilleer 1100 helicopter plunges into the ocean off Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The pilot survives but four passengers are killed. The NTSB cites loss of tail rotor control.

• Sept. 16, 1992: A Hawai'i Helicopters Aerospatiale Astar slams into the southern slope of Haleakala on Maui, killing seven. The NTSB cites pilot error for flying into bad weather.

• April 22, 1992: All nine aboard a Scenic Air Tours Beech E18S plane die in a crash near Haleakala Crater. The NTSB cites pilot error for flying into bad weather.

rmnm, it might have been only two crashes for that particular company, but as you can see from subsequent posts, the number of crashes for all the helicopter companies operating in Hawaii shows this is not a rare event.

Unfortunatley, I seem to read of this happening every year. Yes, it is safer than a car, but much less safe than riding a mule into the Grand Canyon.

Research is good. That other Heli USA crash that occurred in September 2005 killed 3 people. The pilot (who survived) was charged with manslaughter, making false statements to investigators, and tampering with evidence. A research of tour companies might have revealed this info to the people who flew yesterday.

On the other hand, researching tour companies could tell someone absolutely nothing. Crashes happen to companies that have had *perfect* safety records up until that point.

It could just be an inherently dangerous activity.

Unfortunately helicopter crashes are not that rare. They are inherently more dangerous than fixed wing places - esp larger planes - and more subject to weather condtions.

Also - unfortunatley many of these smaller companies simply don;t have the financial resources of major airlines - to keep planes in best repair and compensate pilots similarly to other commercial pilots.

For that reason in NYC heliports are allowed at sites only right on the water - so any crashes have a much smaller chance of affecting civilians. (There used to be a very popular heliport on top of what was then the Pan Am building until a major crash caused the state to limit the placement of public heliports.)

I can only suggest that anyone considering a helicopter flight consider all the possible issues - including weather - and get as much info as possible before getting in the aircraft.

hawaiifanatic:

• Ask about the cancellation policy in case of bad weather.Even in a rainstorm, copters often fly, because tour operators don’t want to lose the business.

Most of the companies here on Kaua`i offer a kind of rain-check if the weather is bad -- no refund, but a chance to fly on a later date (usually within one year).

• Check the weather conditions before you fly. Don’t be shy about canceling if you’re concerned about the
weather.

I'd rather forfeit $$$, than my life -- and the credit card companies might reverse the charges IF you can show them the weather conditions that day (local newspaper).

• Ask specifically what kind of instrumentation the helicopter has. It should be sufficient to allow the pilot to navigate during heavy rain, low cloud cover, or other hazardous weather conditions. And remember: these conditions can pop up suddenly.

All of the Kaua`i copters are relatively new -- and the average customer won't know what the correct answers are anyway. Weather conditions on any tropical island is subject to rapid change. There's a move afoot here to require new heli pilots to log X number of hours flying in island conditions, before being allowed to take passengers.

• Make sure that the company operates under FAA Part 135 certification. In order to maintain a certificate of this type, the company must follow a rigorous and expensive maintenance program and its pilots must pass annual flight tests not required of companies operating only under Part 91 of Federal Aviation Regulations.

That's a requirement of all the commercial helicopters here on Kaua`i.

• Vet your pilot. Who will be piloting your flight? An ad that hypes the number of flying hours logged by the company tells you nothing about the flying experience of an individual pilot. Not every pilot who qualifies for a helicopter license has had extensive experience with a given island’s terrain or its microweather.

Discussed above -- hope the FAA implements the new rules about logging island flight time.

• Ask about the ability of the pilot and the aircraft to deal with poor weather conditions. Is the pilot instrument rated? Has he or she had specific microweather training in Hawaii? If so, how extensive?

Here again, will the average customer know what the correct answers are to these questions?

• Make sure the helicopter you will be flying on has emergency floats on the skids. Even if you are wearing a life vest, the floats are still necessary to allow you time to get out of the helicopter.

The helicopter which went down yesterday, had floats.

We did one but not this outfit...obviously we survived. It was great but one time is enough. I was a bit nervous of course but it all turned out ok. We all take risks of some kind - scuba diving, surfing, parasailing, etc etc etc to each his/her own .... we all make our choices and accept the risks. It is sad when these things happen but wouldn't life be a bit boring if we didn't take a few risks?

Bless all of them and the pilot for doing his best. Seems to me, he saved 2 lives that day.