Vet your helicopter tour service
 

The National Transportation Board (NTSB) held hearings today in Washington DC about the last two fatal helicopter tour crashes in Hawaii.

The NTSB concluded that the Bali Hai crash that occurred on September 24, 2004 was due to pilot inexperience and poor judgment in the midst of bad weather.

http://ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2007/070213.htm


The other fatal flight by Heli-USA on September 23, 2005, also on Kauai, suffered the same problems, as well as a lack of flotation gear when the helicopter landed on the ocean.

http://ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2007/070213a.htm

The lesson here is that not all tour helicopter services in Hawaii are equal. Ask questions about how much experience YOUR pilot has flying IN HAWAII.

Meanwhile the new FAA air tour safety rule still does not require that helicopters provide both life preservers and have floats on the helicopters. It's safer to fly on a helicopter that provides both. Ask any tour service you are interested in if they provide both.

ALL helicopter tours are unsafe, as per an article in The Phoenix dated Feb 22, 2002:

"Indeed, the most alarming recent trend is the increase in fatalities involving the field of scenic helicopter tours. While the industry accounts for only 2.5 percent of all registered US helicopters, 13 percent of civilian deaths result from scenic heli-tours. An NTSB study reveals that there were 28 heli-tour-related deaths and serious injuries last year, a staggering 460 percent increase from 1996. Four of the five deadliest civilian-helicopter crashes in the US over the last decade have involved scenic heli-tours."

But lots of folks still want to take those flights. For example, there's something like 100 flights a day over Kauai during peak tourist season. So folks mine as well ask some questions of the tour services to try to improve their odds of avoiding a crash.

We used Blue Hawaii on Maui, and as a someone who has spent 40 years in the general aviation industry (fixed wing, not helicopters) I was impressed by their professionalism.

I investigated Blue Hawaiian, and I agree with you.

Thank you hawaiifanatic.
I would not have thought to ask the questions you pose, and I will remember them the next time I consider a helitour.

Wow, this sounds horrible, a 460% increase in helicopter related deaths.

That is until you read that the total number was 28. How many car crash deaths are there in a year? More than 28? You bet! This is something to think over, but I wouldn't cancel my vacation because of it.

A high number of all airframe/etc.-related incidents involve "pilot error."

I am not sure anyone has ever done a comprehensive study to determine just how much difference "years of experience" actually makes.

It would seem logical that more experienced aviators would be less likely to be involved in an incident but do we know this for certain?

A big issue in tour helicopter flights in Hawaii are volatile "microclimates," especially over the ocean and in the craters. So the more experienced a pilot is in reading the changes, the more likely he or she is to make smart decisions. As the NTSB documents, the pilots of the last two fatal crashes in Hawaii were recent transplants from the mainland who had little experience flying in Hawaii's weather. This inexperience contributed directly to those crashes.

Here's an excellent article from today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin on the subject. Not all tour services or pilots are equal. Ask questions before you sign on.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/14/news/story01.html

Not trying to scare anyone, but I don't think there is any way to predict which tour company will have a crash (although flotation gear is good to have after the crash occurs).

I looked into this before one of my trips, and many different companies have had crashes, and you know what? Before that particular crash, the company had a great record. One example I'll raise is Blue Hawaiian - not because I want to pick on them, but only because someone above mentioned them. They had a fatal crash in 2000 on Maui that killed 7 people and it was blamed on pilot error. But before that crash, they had a perfect record.

So to me, it's always a crap shoot, no matter who you go with. It's a dangerous (albeit, very fun) activity. I'm sure there are helicopter enthusiests who will disagree with me about the dangers, but that is my opinion.

(To not offend Blue Hawaiian, I'll mention some other companies that had fatal crashes in Hawaii - Heli USA, Jack Harter, Ohana, Kainoa, Tropical, Papillon, Hawaii Helicopters, Bali Hai, and Inter-Island Helicopters. And it's not just tours - there was a fatal crash of a search and rescue helicopter that killed a police officer and a fire fighter.)

I am in no way affiliated with Blue Hawaiian, but I know about that crash you cite. This spurred them to take extensive measures to upgrade their safety. It's documented in the helicopters chapter of the following book. The book also has a list of questions you can ask tour services before you fly.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...9355&itm=3