Kauai tour helicopter missing 27th Dec 2019
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I just got off the phone with my buddy. I believe Paul Matero was the pilot and N985SA is the aircraft. My buddy is a former career Marine and said his flight was nominal...He considered the pilot, from his observation, to have been beyond competent and said his flight was smooth... Weather came in after they landed. So, it would appear, whatever happened, didn't present on the previous flight.
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Kauai Police Department have released photos of the crash location (not the site itself) on their Facebook and there was an interview with someone from the Fire Department on the Honolulu Star Advertiser site. The interview stated the aircraft hit a ridge and fell 50-100 yards before coming to rest. The location appears to be high up, somewhere at the very back of Nualolo.
Good point! From sifting through many reports I can tell that there are many accidents where the aircraft neither had a (working) ELT nor a sat tracker and where is took days to locate the crash site.
For what it is worth, having sat comms on board gives me one less reason to push on when confronted with deteriorating weather. I know wherever I land I can always call for assistance. (So does survival equipment, warm clothes and 'tons' of potable water...)
For what it is worth, having sat comms on board gives me one less reason to push on when confronted with deteriorating weather. I know wherever I land I can always call for assistance. (So does survival equipment, warm clothes and 'tons' of potable water...)
It would seem - unless there is clear evidence of mechanical failure - to be another CFIT pushing on in rapidly worsening weather.
Originally Posted by [email protected]
It would seem - unless there is clear evidence of mechanical failure - to be another CFIT pushing on in rapidly worsening weather.
The canyon wall is extremely steep and the edge quite abrupt.
If the reports of deteriorating weather are correct, it may be that the aircraft was caught in a gust as it was clearing the top of the ridge.
The canyon wall is extremely steep and the edge quite abrupt.
The canyon wall is extremely steep and the edge quite abrupt.
Originally Posted by [email protected]
and surely a pilot experienced in that terrain and those conditions would have left a bigger margin to allow for gusts and downdraughts.
I've only been in perfect weather and it is spectacular, but with a storm bearing down I'd not want to be in it.
but with a storm bearing down I'd not want to be in it.
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The crash site is a fair distance beyond the rim of the canyon, and it's not an area where turbulence and downdrafts tend to be a problem. Talking to people who were flying that day the weather moved in exceptionally fast, routes went from moderately open to completely closed in a couple of minutes. What's particularly hard to take is that Paul wasn't the type to take stupid risks, just a couple of days earlier he was one of the first to be cancelling flights for bad weather.
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The crash site is a fair distance beyond the rim of the canyon, and it's not an area where turbulence and downdrafts tend to be a problem. Talking to people who were flying that day the weather moved in exceptionally fast, routes went from moderately open to completely closed in a couple of minutes. What's particularly hard to take is that Paul wasn't the type to take stupid risks, just a couple of days earlier he was one of the first to be cancelling flights for bad weather.
The vast majority of pilots who crashed are not stupid...They just got caught..... If you read full accident report, fixed wing or helicopters, the vast majority of pilots involved had experience and were good pilots. Experience is not a guarantee that you won't do any mistake because many experienced pilots do mistakes. It is just reality. And experience help you to push boundaries......As pilots, we deal with many different situations, luck is sometimes your savor, we all had very close call.
In my opinion common sense is sometimes your savior, not luck, as for your close call, I hope you learnt something from it!
I suggest a careful reading of Ernie Gann’s “Fate is the Hunter” might prove beneficial to some.
To be an Aviator one must know Gann.
To be an Aviator one must know Gann.
The problem is recognising the factors that result in a fatal accident in your own behaviour.
Pressure, internal and external
We got away with it before, we will again
It has nothing to do with stupidity, and no one is just 'caught out'.
The human machine is flawed, we all are.
Almost all accidents are avoidable, the responsibility for flying into terrain in poor weather sits with the people at the business end, as uncomfortable and painful as it may be to accept.
Bell ringer -
There's a number of nasty wind/terrain traps that glider pilots flying ridges need to avoid. Bottom line rotors can form downwind of a discontinuity and produce a shear of double the wind aloft.
Don't know how badly a 30 kt shear would affect a helicopter, but I had a narrow escape from one in a glider.
Don't know how badly a 30 kt shear would affect a helicopter, but I had a narrow escape from one in a glider.
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Last edited by Paul Cantrell; 6th Jan 2020 at 20:07.
NTSB UPDATE HERE:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/...NC20MA010.aspx
The NTSB is investigating the crash of an Airbus AS350B2 sighseeing helicopter in Kauai, HI.
On December 26, at approximately 4:57 p.m. local time, an Airbus AS350 B2 helicopter, registration number N985SA, collided with terrain about 24 miles northwest of Lihue, Hawaii. The helicopter impacted a ridge at an altitude of 2,900 feet, then fell approximately 100 feet. A post-crash fire consumed much of the aircraft. The helicopter’s commercial pilot and six passengers were killed.
The helicopter was registered to SAF LTD and operated by Safari Helicopters, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on-demand sightseeing flight. The flight departed Lihue Airport at 4:31 p.m. local time.
The crash site on Kauai of an Airbus AS350 helicopter. (NTSB photo by Brice Banning)
The NTSB dispatched a team of four, led by Investigator-In-Charge Brice Banning, that includes experts in airworthiness, operations and family assistance. They arrived on Kauai, Hawaii, Sunday evening. Other investigators, including a meteorologist, are working from NTSB headquarters in Washington.
On Monday, December 30, 2019, Banning flew over the crash site to evaluate the accident site conditions and photo document the wreckage path. In the coming days the wreckage will be moved to a secure location where investigators will conduct a more thorough examination of the recovered evidence. Details and timing are still being worked out.
A preliminary report documenting facts collected on scene will be issued on ntsb.gov within three weeks of the crash date. The final report, which will contain a finding of probable cause and any safety recommendations, will be issued at the end of the investigation, which could take 12-24 months. The reports and any future updates will be posted to this accident web page.
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/...NC20MA010.aspx
The NTSB is investigating the crash of an Airbus AS350B2 sighseeing helicopter in Kauai, HI.
Investigative Update, December 31, 2019
NTSB investigators are studying developing plans to soon recover the wreckage of the air tour helicopter that crashed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai last week.On December 26, at approximately 4:57 p.m. local time, an Airbus AS350 B2 helicopter, registration number N985SA, collided with terrain about 24 miles northwest of Lihue, Hawaii. The helicopter impacted a ridge at an altitude of 2,900 feet, then fell approximately 100 feet. A post-crash fire consumed much of the aircraft. The helicopter’s commercial pilot and six passengers were killed.
The helicopter was registered to SAF LTD and operated by Safari Helicopters, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on-demand sightseeing flight. The flight departed Lihue Airport at 4:31 p.m. local time.
The crash site on Kauai of an Airbus AS350 helicopter. (NTSB photo by Brice Banning)
The NTSB dispatched a team of four, led by Investigator-In-Charge Brice Banning, that includes experts in airworthiness, operations and family assistance. They arrived on Kauai, Hawaii, Sunday evening. Other investigators, including a meteorologist, are working from NTSB headquarters in Washington.
On Monday, December 30, 2019, Banning flew over the crash site to evaluate the accident site conditions and photo document the wreckage path. In the coming days the wreckage will be moved to a secure location where investigators will conduct a more thorough examination of the recovered evidence. Details and timing are still being worked out.
A preliminary report documenting facts collected on scene will be issued on ntsb.gov within three weeks of the crash date. The final report, which will contain a finding of probable cause and any safety recommendations, will be issued at the end of the investigation, which could take 12-24 months. The reports and any future updates will be posted to this accident web page.
Golden rule of flying in hilly/mountainous terrain in poor weather - always keep an escape route and don't be afraid to use it - you can always go back in if the weather clears.