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From Avweb

Quote:

The Coast Guard has called off its search for two missing men after an air tour helicopter crashed off the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Thursday. The body of one of the passengers was recovered shortly after the crash. The dead woman was Amy Nichole Ruart Quintua. Missing are passenger James Quintua and pilot Guy Croyden.A preliminary report indicates hikers witnessed the helicopter crash into the water around 1:20 p.m. and reported the incident to authorities. The helicopter, identified as a Robinson R44 by the FAA, was operated by Ali’i Kauai Air Tours and Charters based in Lihue. Following the crash, the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction (TFR) for the search and rescue operations. The agency said it’s investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to a report from CNN, Hawaii has the highest number of deaths from air tour crashes in the nation—with 85 killed since the NTSB began keeping records. With increased scrutiny, local officials have called for stricter regulations and oversight of air tour operations in the state. New safety measures including equipment upgrades and flight data monitoring were included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

Slow news day huh….This happened last Thursday July 11th.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/norther...awaii/61600411

R44 Crash In Hawaii Ruled Mast Bumping

looks like nasty wx...

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinstar_ca (Post 11903879)

looks like nasty wx...

Having flown there for 7 years, I can tell you that is very typical weather for the island of Kauai. Passing clouds all day long. I understand there may have been a nasty wind associated with one of those passing clouds, but again, nothing really untoward there.

Hmm,...they just had a job post up a month ago. Wonder if this was a new guy? Actually nevermind, just saw this was a year ago.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbiee (Post 11904876)

Hmm,...they just had a job post up a month ago. Wonder if this was a new guy? Actually nevermind, just saw this was a year ago.

Yea, Pilot involved had approx. 6,000 hrs in a 44, probably 99% of that was on the island of Kauai.

As Gordy mentioned also, weather of that sort not that unusual for the north shore of Kauai.

I noticed an error on Page 4 of the report as well in the 'seat occupied' entry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torquetalk (Post 11905391)

If turbulence and unpredictable gusts are typical, is a teetering head helicopter a suitable type to fly tours in the area? Sounds like an inexpensive type to operate with downstream costs.

fwiw, the accident ship was flying when all other operators had shut down for the day due to steadily increasing wind in the exact region of the accident.

also, regarding the question about teetering head helicopters, the R22 and R44 are the primary trainers on the Hawaiian islands. So the rotor type is fine for the islands with the proper operational limits and procedures.

The islands are a very tough place to fly with many hazards related to IIMC and winds. This has contributed to numerous serious accidents in the last few decades. We continue to work closely with operators in Hawaii to help with training and technology to strengthen operational safety.

1. Flying in conditions where the drifting clouds can obscure your horizon instantaneously can be certainly challenging. Furthermore, when the humidity causes haze all over the water, even the fatigue levels will always be on the higher side.
2. Strong, gusty wind conditions will also cause large variation of power demand and corresponding variation of collective. This will demand more attention of the pilot to monitor the torque variations, the Ts and Ps as also the visual cues as in ser 1 above.
The point i wish to make is we need to learn from these potential situations and be away or evading them as much as possible. Once likely to face both the situations together, experience should be used to avoid getting into the situation or exiting as soon as possible, negotiating weather to continue is a totally no-go situation. Not that this pilot did anything wrong, he just helped us to remind us of some important aspects.

Robinsons are great for this sort of work since they are cheaper than pretty much any other option - sure we kill a few people now and again but what the hell, think about the profit.............

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected] (Post 11906694)

Robinsons are great for this sort of work since they are cheaper than pretty much any other option - sure we kill a few people now and again but what the hell, think about the profit.............

Good point, as its "we" pilots who kill them with poor judgment, complacency, distractions, and get-the-job-done itis, not poor little Robby.

,...all in pursuit of those precious hours (profit).