Pilot in '98 crash radioed: 'I can't see'

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The pilot of a tour helicopter that crashed into the side of Mt. Wai'ale'ale nearly three years ago, killing six people, radioed the words, "I can't see," shortly before slamming into a rain-drenched cliffside.

A just-released National Transportation Safety Board report on the June 23, 1998, crash found that the pilot of an 'Ohana Helicopters tour flight was in deteriorating weather in the island's central mountains when he found himself in dense clouds.

No determination has been made on the cause of the crash. That will await a meeting of the board in about two months, an NTSB official said.

The factual report indicated there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter. Pilot Charles Lowe was given a compass bearing to get out of the clouds by another company pilot flying nearby, but the report did not indicate whether Lowe ever heard the radio message.

The Eurocopter AS-350-BA aircraft slammed almost head-on into the mountainside. No one survived the impact.