Helicopter crash area was off-limits
| • | Map of the crash site |
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The tour helicopter that crashed Sunday hit the ground within a restricted area where sightseeing flights were temporarily banned because of a brushfire, according to the lead investigator of the accident in which the pilot and three passengers were killed.
York Daily Record
It was not known yesterday whether the helicopter's entry just within the eastern edge of the restricted area could have contributed to the crash of the Tropical Helicopters sightseeing flight.
These three Pennsylvanians were killed Sunday in the tour helicopter crash on the Big Island. Jody Laughman, center, is flanked by her daughter Nicole Laughman and husband, James Thomas. The crash also killed the pilot.
Tealeye C. Cornejo, air-safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators have not determined if the crash was caused by mechanical failure or pilot error. "It's too soon to rule out anything," she said.
Earlier reports said the pilot radioed that his engine failed, but Cornejo said the pilot did not specify the kind of problem he was having.
The helicopter, piloted by Russell Holliday, made a mayday call at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday before crashing on a cliff known as Pulama Pali. The area is about 2 miles inland from Chain of Craters Road in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
Cornejo said the helicopter was heading upslope when it crashed and caught fire.
"Everything forward of the firewall (behind the passenger seats) was destroyed in the fire, so we'll have to go through the wreckage and see what we have," said Cornejo, who disclosed that two bodies were inside the helicopter, and two were outside it.
Federal officials tentatively identified the dead as pilot Holliday and passengers Jody Laughman; her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Laughman; and Jody Laughman's husband, James Thomas. The family was from Lake Meade in Adams County in south-central Pennsylvania.
Autopsies were scheduled yesterday at Hilo Medical Center.
The crash was close to what used to be the Kalapana Trail.
But Park Ranger Jim Gale said tour flights have been banned in the area extending northeast from Chain of Craters Road to beyond the trail site.
The temporary ban is to prevent disruption of flights by work helicopters that have been dumping water on the brushfire. "They can do like 10 trips an hour sometimes — they're going back and forth to get water to the fire as fast as possible," Gale said.
Brushfires have burned about 5,000 acres in the area since late May. Tropical is one of the companies that parks officials have hired to conduct the water drops.
There is no obvious boundary that marks the restricted area, according to Gale, who said: "The pilots do abide by these temporary air restrictions. ... They want to fly safe."
Cornejo said the advance of a lava flow forced investigators to speed their inspection of the crash site Monday and to move the wreckage to Hilo airport.
The investigators, who took photos, plan to reconstruct the helicopter to determine what factors might have led to the crash.
Investigators also will seek any radar data and will review weather conditions. Initial reports were that the weather was clear, with a light breeze, Cornejo said.
Cornejo said she has not yet reviewed the maintenance records for the helicopter. But she said it underwent a 100-hour inspection Friday, which includes maintenance.
