Posted on: Monday, June 7, 2004

Loose nut cited in 2001 helicopter accident

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — A tour helicopter accident near Hilo that injured two passengers in 2001 and destroyed the aircraft was probably caused by a mechanic's failure to secure a nut while servicing the engine, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The forced landing of the Tropical Helicopters aircraft in a Kea'au field five minutes after takeoff from Hilo airport on Sept. 29, 2001, occurred on a tour of lava flows in the Kalapana area.

In another announcement last week, the NTSB said it is unable to determine what caused both engines of a Cessna 337C tour airplane to fail in an accident on May 18, 2001. The pilot of that Mokulele Flight Service tour plane ditched in the ocean near Pa'auilo, escaping unharmed with the four passengers.

In the Tropical Helicopters flight, the pilot reported hearing a loud bang shortly after taking off from Hilo, followed by smoking from the helicopter's single engine. The engine failed, and the pilot landed in a field of grass.

The pilot then helped the four passengers out of the aircraft. The helicopter caught fire and two of the passengers suffered slight burns. The accident caused $250,000 in damage to the aircraft.

The NTSB said the "probable cause" was the failure of a maintenance mechanic to secure a bearing thrust nut, causing the engine failure.

Tropical Helicopters was involved in a far more serious crash last June of a Hughes 500D that went down near the lava flow, killing pilot Russell Holliday and passengers Jody Laughman; her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Laughman; and Jody's husband, James Thomas.

A preliminary NTSB report on that crash suggested that flight may also have encountered engine trouble. A pilot who heard a distress call radioed from the stricken helicopter also reported hearing the "engine out" audio tone in the background, but the NTSB has not released a finding on the cause of the 2003 crash.

In the report on the Mokulele Flight Service tour plane, the pilot noticed both engines were gradually losing power an hour into the tour flight. The pilot ditched in the ocean, and Fire Department rescue crews retrieved the pilot and passengers.

The plane sank in 150 feet of water, and was never recovered. The NTSB declared the cause to be "a dual loss of engine power for undetermined reasons."

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