I am not a pilot and this is my first post, because I was intrigued about the unfortunate Kauai accident since I took the helicopter tour there about 20 years ago. It was very thrilling and I was not all that concerned until the pilot said we were going to fly over an area that had one of the greatest (if not the greatest, I cannot recall) rainfall accumulations on the earth! It was sunny when we departed but sure enough, halfway through the trip it started raining so hard I could not see through the plexiglass (I guess the pilot could, or his instruments were guiding him because I am typing this). As I said, not being a pilot, all I could think of was all that rain being sucked into the engine and wondering how the engineers designed things to keep the craft in the air. Suddenly, the sun shone again and the rest of the trip was uneventful. But I will never forget the volume of sudden rain that day and the skill of the pilot.