PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Kauai tour helicopter missing 27th Dec 2019
Old 27th Dec 2019, 22:38
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Gordy
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
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Originally Posted by letsjet
Perhaps you've been in difficult meteorological conditions up that way and can voice your experience.
The weather conditions on Kauai are unique. The North shore averages 140 inches of rain per year, the middle of the Island at Mt. Wai'ale'ale, 10 miles away, gets 450 inches per year and the South West side in Waimea, another 12 miles away gets less than 12 inches per year. The saying is, "if you do not like the weather, wait 5 minutes or move 5 miles. It is almost impossible to predict the weather at any point on the island at any given time unless you say "partly cloudy, partly sunny with possible rain".

Originally Posted by letsjet
Still trying to understand why no ELT ping.
The walls of Nualolo valley are near vertical and the unless a satellite is directly overhead, I doubt it would pick up a transmitting beacon. I am guessing they kind of knew roughly where to look as there is also some radar coverage in that area, although it takes time to get it from Honolulu.
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