Posted on: Thursday, April 12, 2001

Pilot on fatal tour flight said 'I can't see'

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The pilot of a tour helicopter that crashed into the side of Mount Wai'ale'ale, killing six people, radioed the words, "I can't see," shortly before slamming into the rain-drenched cliffside June 25, 1998.

A National Transportation Safety Board report on the facts surrounding the crash, which has just been issued, 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.

The report did not speculate about the cause of the crash, but it did note that Federal Aviation Administration requirements for the region mandate that helicopters stay at least 500 feet below clouds and 1,000 feet above the surface, and fly in areas with at least three miles of visibility.

An official at the NTSB's Southwest Regional Office in Gardena, Calif., said yesterday that the case would probably be brought to the full transportation safety board in about two months for a determination of probable cause.

Pilots of tour helicopter flights just ahead of the one that crashed said it was cloudy with some rain in the interior of the island, but that the conditions were not that unusual. However, transcripts of radio conversations between pilots indicated the weather was getting worse in the minutes before the tragedy.

"Instrument meteorological conditions existed in the vicinity of the accident site," the report said.

Autopsies indicated the pilot, Charles Lowe, 45, of Kekaha, Kaua'i, and the five passengers all died instantly. The passengers were Pauline Muse, 50, and daughter Rebecca Muse, 9, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; Andrew Yang, 10, also of Lake Oswego; and John Sipin, 39, and Maxine Sipin, 42, of Twinsburg, Ohio.

The factual report of the accident was delayed, in part because of pressing work on other accidents by NTSB investigator Wayne Pollock.

The report said Lowe, a former military pilot, had more than 3,000 helicopter flight hours, and was a qualified safety officer and instrument check pilot. He was familiar with Kaua'i, having flown helicopters on the island for more than two years. His 220 hours in the Eurocopter AS-350-BA aircraft he was flying were acquired entirely while flying for 'Ohana Helicopters.

An autopsy found no evidence of drugs or alcohol in his system, and studies on the wreckage and company files suggested no mechanical problems with the helicopter and no maintenance errors.

Lowe was in the final portion of an around-the-island helicopter tour, which normally includes a foray into the crater at the base of Mount Wai'ale'ale, reputed to be the wettest spot on Earth. His was the third in line of three 'Ohana flights in the air that morning.

The first pilot told the NTSB that he had cut short his flight into the crater because of heavy rain showers and low clouds, which had bottoms at about 2,500 feet above sea level. But the report said the pilot reported "it was a typical weather condition for the area."

The second pilot reported the cloud ceiling was at about 3,000 feet with light to moderate rain, but that the rain stopped at the entrance to the crater and he was able to make a flight circuit inside.

There was chatter between the pilots about the weather conditions, and near the time of the crash, the first pilot reported hearing Lowe transmit the words, "I can't see."

The second pilot reported hearing the words, "Boy, the weather is looking bad right here," and he responded by telling Lowe to fly toward the southeast to get out of the area.

It was not clear whether Lowe heard that message.

The helicopter, apparently in dense clouds, struck the mountainside at an elevation of between 2,350 and 2,450 feet above sea level. The impact was about 200 feet below the edge of a ridge extending from the island's central mountain mass.

The evidence showed the helicopter smashed into the steep ridge wall under power, on a northerly heading within 30 degrees of being perpendicular to the ridge face.

Two years later, seven people died in a similar accident on Maui when a Blue Hawaiian tour helicopter crashed into a ridge in '?ao Valley, also apparently after becoming engulfed in clouds.