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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, July 26, 2003

Copter rider's survival short-lived

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A visitor from Denver who survived the impact of Wednesday's tour helicopter crash at Wai'ale'ale spoke briefly with rescuers but did not provide any information about why the aircraft went down, according to a National Transportation Safety Board official.

The visitor, Monica Peterson, 33, survived on the mountainside for about six hours. Firefighters stayed with the woman for several hours but could not evacuate her for medical attention because heavy clouds obscured the crash site. Her husband, Jeffrey S. Peterson, 33, was among those killed in the crash.

"Her comment was very brief, and her comment did not relate to the accident," said Wayne Pollack, lead NTSB investigator. Pollack interviewed the firefighters who attended Peterson in her final hours. She was only able to ask for help, he said.

Also killed were two other passengers, Edward J. Wadiak, 55, and wife Teresa M. Wadiak, 53, of Manassas, Va., and Jack Harter Helicopters pilot Mark Lundgren, 44, of Puhi, Kaua'i, a retired Navy lieutenant commander who was a veteran of Kaua'i tour helicopter flying.

Four of the bodies were recovered Thursday, and the fifth was removed from the crash site yesterday.

Investigators are hoping to begin bringing the aircraft wreckage to a Lihu'e Airport hangar today.

Pollack said he would give no indication of the cause of the crash until the investigation is complete, a process that could take months.

It will involve, among other things, a review of the helicopter's radar track, inspection of the mechanical condition of the aircraft, reviews of training and other helicopter company procedures, autopsy and toxicology reports on the pilot, inspection of photography from the wreck site and interviews with numerous people who may have information on the crash.

The Bell 206B Jet Ranger five-seater left Lihu'e on a standard one-hour tour about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Pollock said radio transmissions overheard by other pilots in the air that day gave no indication of anything wrong.

Lundgren's final transmission, a minute or two before 9 a.m., was a report that he was leaving the north wall of Wai'ale'ale Crater. The helicopter is believed to have crashed seconds or minutes later at about the 4,600-foot elevation.

Pollack viewed the wreckage from another helicopter yesterday morning and said the downed chopper is fragmented in "numerous pieces," but did not appear to have burned.

The investigation into the crash will be conducted by Pollack and NTSB staff, an investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration who arrived from the Mainland yesterday, and personnel from airframe manufacturer Bell Helicopters, from Rolls Royce for engine manufacturer Allison, and from Jack Harter Helicopters.

Harter started the helicopter tour business on Kaua'i in 1962, and his firm had a perfect safety record until Wednesday.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.