Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Heli USA pilot issued mayday, gave evacuation instructions
 |
| National Transportation Safety Board investigator Nicole Charnon said she is looking for two life preservers that were transported via a U.S. Navy helicopter to the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility following the Friday-afternoon helicopter crash. |
By Andy Gross - The Garden Island
LIHU'E — The pilot of a Heli USA Airways helicopter that plunged into the sea Friday, killing three people, had time to instruct his passengers to prepare to evacuate prior to the fatal crash, investigators said yesterday.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator Nicole Charnon said that, based upon interviews with the pilot and surviving passengers, the helicopter experienced a major descent before going up in the air again. Sometime during these changes in altitude, the pilot, whose identity is known to NTSB investigators but has not been released publicly, began issuing mayday calls and instructing his passengers on how to evacuate.
"There is no indication anyone was deceased at this time (of impact). We're still looking at the cause of death," Charnon said.
"We're still trying to organize the exact sequence of events," Charnon said, adding that all the passengers had viewed a safety video and had gone through various stage of securing their life preservers. She said NTSB investigators are in possession of that video.
Charnon said the two passengers riding in front with the pilot were killed. One of the three persons killed Friday has been identified by Kaua'i Police Department officials as Laverne Clifton, 69, a male tourist from Beloit, Wisc.
Two who survived are Karen Clifton, the daughter of the deceased man, and her new husband, Bill Thorson.
The names of the other victims are being withheld until next of kin has been notified, according to Mary Daubert, county public information officer.
Charnon, one of three NTSB investigators working on the case, said the Heli USA pilot's may day calls were heard only by other aircraft.
Charnon said investigators are not yet able to determine at what altitude the helicopter was at when it reportedly flew into a wall of rain.
She said the aircraft did not have "floats," or skid pads. Skid pads are recommended by NTSB leaders for helicopters flying in Hawai'i, with its sheer cliffs and being surrounded by water. She said it was not possible to determine if the aircraft was outside its gliding distance.
"From what the pilot said, he was close to the shoreline," she reported.
Charnon said the pilot said he was at about 2,000 feet elevation and was traveling northeast from the Waimea Canyon toward Na Pali Coast.
"We're examining the wreckage. We basically have the entire helicopter, and have all but one rotor," she said. "We're going to finish documenting the wreckage."
She estimated the pilot was about 23 minutes into a scheduled 45-minute tour that began about 1:54 p.m.
She said NTSB investigators are still attempting to recover two life preservers.
They were apparently transferred by the crew of a U.S. Navy rescue helicopter to the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility, and were then sent to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital at the West Kauai Medical Center with two victims who were declared dead there late Friday night.
Charnon said it is important to NTSB investigators to find the preservers to determine if they were inflated, and for improving survival factors in future incidents.
Wally Roberts, an annual visitor to Kaua'i and a retired airline pilot who is still active in aviation consulting, said NTSB Investigator Debra Eckrote's estimation in Saturday's The Garden Island that it will be several months before NTSB investigators would issue a probable cause was "optimistic."
"The NTSB has yet to issue its analyses, factual reports, or probable causes of Kaua'i's two fatal tour helicopter crashes that occurred chronologically prior to last Friday's crash," Roberts said.
"The first of these two crashes (which caused five fatalities) occurred on July 23, 2003 (26 months ago), and the second crash (also resulting in five fatalities) occurred 12 months ago, on September 24, 2004," Roberts noted.
He said the preliminary reports for both previous crashes remain unchanged on the NTSB's Web site since their postings within a week, or so, of those previous crashes. (www.ntsb.gov, cases LAX03FA241 and LAX04FA329.)
Leaders with Heli USA Airways suspended flights on Kaua'i Saturday, "out of respect for the passengers," said Jeff Power, Heli USA marketing vice president.
Power said no federal, state or county agency officials restricted the company from flying. Power also declined to identify the pilot, who he said was not injured.
He said the aircraft was fully insured.
Power said a second Heli USA aircraft's pilot made a precautionary landing near Hanakapi'ai Beach along Na Pali Coast, as he had been assisting with the rescue efforts. This included assisting Navy crews in locating the crashed aircraft.
Heli-USA operates just one sight-seeing flight from Lihu'e Airport, where the crashed Eurocopter departed from. The "Kauai Deluxe Island Kamaaina Helicopter Tour," according to the company's Web site, is a 45-minute tour over Kaua'i, flying over such landmarks as waterfalls, Waimea Canyon, and Kalalau Valley.
Dr. Ron Pope, an elementary-education instructor retired from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, flew on Heli USA Airways on Thursday, Sept. 22, the day before the fatal crash.
He is vacationing in the state, and called from Maui concerned that the same pilot who took he and his wife on their tour, out of Princeville Airport, may have been the same one involved in Friday's crash.
The pilot only identified himself as Jesse, but was very professional, Pope said. His wife had never flown in a helicopter before, so was apprehensive, Ron Pope said.
"She enjoyed it. It was smooth. It was an excellent flight," and the pilot was professional, Ron Pope said.
"The pilot was just as smooth as silk," said Pope, who purchased a videotape of the actual flight they were on, and was interested in learning the number of the helicopter that went down, to see if it may have also been the same aircraft he had been in a day earlier.
The route the pilot flew out of Princeville also took Pope, his wife, and other passengers out over the ocean, at Ha'ena, where the Friday crash occurred.
The company also offers flights over O'ahu, as well as flights over the Las Vegas strip and the Grand Canyon.
Andy Gross, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@kauaipubco.com
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator Nicole Charnon said that, based upon interviews with the pilot and surviving passengers, the helicopter experienced a major descent before going up in the air again. Sometime during these changes in altitude, the pilot, whose identity is known to NTSB investigators but has not been released publicly, began issuing mayday calls and instructing his passengers on how to evacuate.
"There is no indication anyone was deceased at this time (of impact). We're still looking at the cause of death," Charnon said.
"We're still trying to organize the exact sequence of events," Charnon said, adding that all the passengers had viewed a safety video and had gone through various stage of securing their life preservers. She said NTSB investigators are in possession of that video.
Charnon said the two passengers riding in front with the pilot were killed. One of the three persons killed Friday has been identified by Kaua'i Police Department officials as Laverne Clifton, 69, a male tourist from Beloit, Wisc.
Two who survived are Karen Clifton, the daughter of the deceased man, and her new husband, Bill Thorson.
The names of the other victims are being withheld until next of kin has been notified, according to Mary Daubert, county public information officer.
Charnon, one of three NTSB investigators working on the case, said the Heli USA pilot's may day calls were heard only by other aircraft.
Charnon said investigators are not yet able to determine at what altitude the helicopter was at when it reportedly flew into a wall of rain.
She said the aircraft did not have "floats," or skid pads. Skid pads are recommended by NTSB leaders for helicopters flying in Hawai'i, with its sheer cliffs and being surrounded by water. She said it was not possible to determine if the aircraft was outside its gliding distance.
"From what the pilot said, he was close to the shoreline," she reported.
Charnon said the pilot said he was at about 2,000 feet elevation and was traveling northeast from the Waimea Canyon toward Na Pali Coast.
"We're examining the wreckage. We basically have the entire helicopter, and have all but one rotor," she said. "We're going to finish documenting the wreckage."
She estimated the pilot was about 23 minutes into a scheduled 45-minute tour that began about 1:54 p.m.
She said NTSB investigators are still attempting to recover two life preservers.
They were apparently transferred by the crew of a U.S. Navy rescue helicopter to the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility, and were then sent to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital at the West Kauai Medical Center with two victims who were declared dead there late Friday night.
Charnon said it is important to NTSB investigators to find the preservers to determine if they were inflated, and for improving survival factors in future incidents.
Wally Roberts, an annual visitor to Kaua'i and a retired airline pilot who is still active in aviation consulting, said NTSB Investigator Debra Eckrote's estimation in Saturday's The Garden Island that it will be several months before NTSB investigators would issue a probable cause was "optimistic."
"The NTSB has yet to issue its analyses, factual reports, or probable causes of Kaua'i's two fatal tour helicopter crashes that occurred chronologically prior to last Friday's crash," Roberts said.
"The first of these two crashes (which caused five fatalities) occurred on July 23, 2003 (26 months ago), and the second crash (also resulting in five fatalities) occurred 12 months ago, on September 24, 2004," Roberts noted.
He said the preliminary reports for both previous crashes remain unchanged on the NTSB's Web site since their postings within a week, or so, of those previous crashes. (www.ntsb.gov, cases LAX03FA241 and LAX04FA329.)
Leaders with Heli USA Airways suspended flights on Kaua'i Saturday, "out of respect for the passengers," said Jeff Power, Heli USA marketing vice president.
Power said no federal, state or county agency officials restricted the company from flying. Power also declined to identify the pilot, who he said was not injured.
He said the aircraft was fully insured.
Power said a second Heli USA aircraft's pilot made a precautionary landing near Hanakapi'ai Beach along Na Pali Coast, as he had been assisting with the rescue efforts. This included assisting Navy crews in locating the crashed aircraft.
Heli-USA operates just one sight-seeing flight from Lihu'e Airport, where the crashed Eurocopter departed from. The "Kauai Deluxe Island Kamaaina Helicopter Tour," according to the company's Web site, is a 45-minute tour over Kaua'i, flying over such landmarks as waterfalls, Waimea Canyon, and Kalalau Valley.
Dr. Ron Pope, an elementary-education instructor retired from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, flew on Heli USA Airways on Thursday, Sept. 22, the day before the fatal crash.
He is vacationing in the state, and called from Maui concerned that the same pilot who took he and his wife on their tour, out of Princeville Airport, may have been the same one involved in Friday's crash.
The pilot only identified himself as Jesse, but was very professional, Pope said. His wife had never flown in a helicopter before, so was apprehensive, Ron Pope said.
"She enjoyed it. It was smooth. It was an excellent flight," and the pilot was professional, Ron Pope said.
"The pilot was just as smooth as silk," said Pope, who purchased a videotape of the actual flight they were on, and was interested in learning the number of the helicopter that went down, to see if it may have also been the same aircraft he had been in a day earlier.
The route the pilot flew out of Princeville also took Pope, his wife, and other passengers out over the ocean, at Ha'ena, where the Friday crash occurred.
The company also offers flights over O'ahu, as well as flights over the Las Vegas strip and the Grand Canyon.
 |
||
| Landscapers first to respond to crash |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
candyrosh wrote on Jun 10, 2009 10:21 PM:
" “The burial treatment plan is very flawed,” Huff said. “It is a clear violation of our rights as indigenous people.”
“We will be staying until further notice and until the state of Hawai�i acknowledges the property was fraudulently sold to Brescia,” Huff said.
------------------------
candyrosh
--------------------
camper trailer--camper trailer "
“We will be staying until further notice and until the state of Hawai�i acknowledges the property was fraudulently sold to Brescia,” Huff said.
------------------------
candyrosh
--------------------
camper trailer--camper trailer "
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
RSS
victor2008 wrote on Oct 31, 2008 12:01 AM:
=====================================================
Victor
Addiction Rehabs "