Scattered ashes miss mark

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

It wasn't illegal, and not even all that unusual. But when cremated human remains fell from the skies last month over Ke'opua Street in Papakolea, residents noticed.

Typically, ashes are spread about five miles offshore, but the deceased in this case had been a hiker fond of the trails in the area, said Tweet Coleman, FAA spokeswoman.

The ashes were scattered by the pilot of a rented Cessna, flying low over the area at about 2 p.m. Feb. 23. The calls to 911 and the Federal Aviation Administration came quickly.

"Someone on the ground saw white smoke in the air," Coleman said. "They wanted to know what it was."

Capt. Richard Soo, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, who lives nearby, went to the scene, as curious as anyone else.

"It was all over the place," he said.

On roofs, the street, yards, in beds of pickup trucks. A hazardous materials unit tested the substance, but could not determine what it was.

"From what I saw, there were bone chips about the size of a dime," Soo said. "Bigger than dust particles, that's for sure."

Air traffic controllers figured out who the pilot was and the FAA counseled him, Coleman said. He had not broken any rules, but he said the next time he would scatter ashes at sea.

"He said he was not aware of what had happened," Coleman said. " It was the hiker's wish that his ashes be spread in that area."

Mike Gordon can be reached by phone at 525-8012, or by e-mail at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.