Bell_ringer I know the owner and the guys running Airborne in Hawaii and they are not "thrillseekers" despite what the marketing people say. They run a professional operation in Kauai and also run the SAR helo there for the Fire Dept.
Other operators such as Jack Harter Helicopters have also run doors off flights - thats the "thrill" part - nothing to do with adverse flying or the like.
From what I heard this was possibly an engine failure so has nothing to do with any "thrill seeking element". To judge an operator just because their marketing people use the thrill seeking terminology on their advertising to gain a share of the tourism market is quite narrow minded.
There inherently seems to be a parallel between culture, safety and thrill seeking in tourist flights that inevitably ends with them making the news.
- such a stupid comment.
I would fly with any of Airbornes pilots any day of the week.