Officials cite need for 'enhanced' 911
| • | Kona crash investigation begins |
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
Rescuers could have reached victims of this weekend's crash of a tour plane in a Kona lava field hours earlier if an enhanced 911 emergency network for wireless phones had been in place, advocates say.
Honolulu Police Lt. Charles Chong noted that rescuers took five hours to find the remote crash site even though the pilot had called 911 for help on her wireless phone and said she had crashed near Miloli'i.
With the help of enhanced technology, Chong said the phone could have signaled emergency crews the crash site's location within about 200 yards.
"We could have been there within 45 minutes to an hour," Chong said.
Dallas and Catherine Ratcliff of Ohio suffered severe burns in Sunday's crash, according to relatives. The pilot, who was not identified, also was burned. All three remained in The Queen's Medical Center yesterday.
A proposed law (HB 2883) would establish a monthly surcharge on mobile-phone connections to pay for the locator-service technology.
The measure has won preliminary approval from state lawmakers and is in conference committee awaiting further changes before a vote on final approval.
Support for the measure has been broad, and backers include several wireless companies — AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Wireless — as well as the state Health Department and the Hawai'i chapter of the American Heart Association.
Don Weisman, state advocacy director for the American Heart Association, said the improved communication could help people in many situations — hikers and boaters who don't know exactly where they are, the sick and even crime victims.
"If you're injured and unable to speak. If you're a visitor and can't pronounce the street names," Weisman said.
Chong said a surcharge of less than a dollar a month is a small price to pay.
"It's been a proven lifesaver time and time again," he said. "It's going to cost the public, but the public is demanding the emergency service."
Legislative testimony indicated that 40 states have similar laws with boards and money to improve emergency services for wireless telephone customers.
Chong said that more than half of Honolulu's 911 calls are on wireless phones. He recalled a case last year of a tourist who got into trouble when a current caught her inflatable raft and carried her away from shore.
Chong said the woman called to report that she was drowning and gave her location, but dispatchers couldn't tell whether she was near the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai or off Mokule'ia on the North Shore. Rescuers searched both locations for hours before determining that the woman had reached safety but not called back.
With enhanced 911, Chong said: "We would have zeroed in on her."
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
