Skills praised of pilot caught in 'downdraft'

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — The Island Hoppers tour plane that crashed on a Big Island lava field Sunday, injuring the pilot and two passengers, was caught in an "extreme downdraft" that forced the aircraft to the ground, according to a company official.

When pilot Jelica Matic realized she could not escape the downdraft, she maneuvered the Piper Warrior to land in the one small unforested spot in the area, according to Phil Auldridge, president of Island Hoppers' parent company, Above it All Inc.

Those on board suffered "little or no" injury in the landing itself, but the plane caught fire and burned Matic and vacationing Ohio couple Catherine and Dallas Ratcliff, according to a statement released yesterday by Auldridge, who also said the pilot performed "admirably if not heroically."

The Ratcliffs both remained in critical condition at Straub Hospital yesterday. Matic was moved from the Big Island to The Queen's Medical Center earlier this week, but a hospital spokeswoman said Matic asked that no information be released about her condition.

Matic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia, arrived in Hawai'i from Arizona about two weeks ago to begin work as a tour pilot with Island Hoppers, according to Arizona friends who have flown with her.

Jon Shawl, a private pilot, described her as an excellent pilot and flight instructor who is extremely cautious.

"You will get nothing but stellar remarks about her flying ability," Shawl said. "She would never do anything that was pushing the envelope."

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles said Matic had a clean record as a pilot, with no accidents or minor "incidents." Above It All Inc. also had no accidents or incidents until the crash, and the single-engine Piper Warrior plane Matic was flying also had a clean record, according to the FAA.

Paul Schlamm, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said two NTSB investigators and one from the FAA planned to spend much of yesterday at the crash site along with representatives of Piper and Lycoming Engines, the aircraft engine manufacturer.

The investigators also will be reviewing Island Hoppers' records on maintenance and pilot qualifications, and, if possible, interviewing those who were on the plane, Schlamm said.

The statement released by Island Hoppers yesterday said discussions with Matic suggest the plane, which had taken off from Kona, crashed because of a "rare but occasionally occurring natural weather phenomenon known as a microburst, or extreme downdraft."

The company said similar weather forces have even been responsible for large jetliner crashes, and that Matic "miraculously" landed the small plane intact on an extremely rough lava flow.

Matic suffered additional burns while assisting one of the Ratcliffs who had trouble getting out of a back seat of the plane, according to the company.

She also used a cell phone at about 4:30 p.m. to seek help from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Big Island Fire Department.

When it began to rain and the Ratcliffs became cold, Matic fashioned a shelter in the tail section of the aircraft. As it got dark the pilot began to walk to seek help, and fell into a hole and further injured herself, according to the company.

The U.S. Coast Guard found the wreckage at 9:09 p.m., and evacuated the three by helicopter to ambulances waiting at Kona airport.

Ann Covill, who worked with Matic as a flight instructor at Angel Air Flight Training Center in Chandler, Ariz., said she is "very conscientious, very attentive to safety, knowing emergency procedures."

"If anything she erred on the side of caution, and wouldn't go flying if she thought it was bad weather," Covill said.

Matic is 33 or 34 years old, with a husband who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., Covill said. Flying was Matic's childhood dream, and she moved to Hawai'i because she was drawn to the beauty of the islands and to get more experience with tour flights, Covill said.

"Flying is her passion, she loves to fly, she will fly anytime, any day, if the weather is good and it's safe," she said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.