Investigators blame pilot error for two helicopter accidents

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Pilot error was to blame for an accident earlier this year at the Kahului Helipad where a helicopter rolled to one side during takeoff, the National Transportation Safety Board has announced.

The Bell 206B aircraft sustained substantial damage in the Aug. 16 accident on Maui, and the 26-year-old pilot with Pacific Helicopter Tours Inc. was slightly injured, according to the NTSB report.

A 2-foot section of the main rotor blade flew off and sliced through a parked helicopter nearby, a hangar wall and a storage closet wall, but the report said no one on the ground was injured.

The pilot was the only occupant on a flight bound for Kona when the helicopter rolled to the right during takeoff, according to the NTSB.

The NTSB blamed the pilot's failure to compensate adequately for a gusty crosswind, and noted the pilot had less than seven hours of experience flying that make and model of aircraft.

The NTSB also concluded that pilot error was to blame for another helicopter accident, at the Kona airport on Sept. 17.

That accident was a hard landing of a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter that caused the main helicopter rotor to sever the tail boom, according to the NTSB report.

A student pilot and a 40-year-old flight instructor who was piloting the aircraft for Hawai'i Pacific Aviation were not injured.

The student and instructor had been practicing an autorotation maneuver when the main rotor blade slowed too much, and the instructor executed an improper landing, according to the report.

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