Posted on: Monday, October 4, 2004

Tighter standards sought for Hawai'i air tourism

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Some helicopter tour companies are required to have a comprehensive and ongoing program for pilot training and aircraft maintenance. Others are not.

The company involved in last week's fatal crash on Kaua'i belongs to the latter category.

But if it were up to the Federal Aviation Administration, Bali Hai Helicopter Tours and others would have to meet the higher regulatory standard.

In a move to improve air tour safety across the country, the FAA is proposing to require all sightseeing air-tour companies to obtain strict certification, referred to as Part 135 certification. That requirement would be in addition to following other strict rules of operation already imposed on Hawai'i tour companies.

Bali Hai, which owns the tour helicopter that crashed Sept. 24, killing all five aboard, is currently regulated by general aviation regulations (Part 91), which are the minimum standards allowed by the FAA for tour operators. To qualify for general aviation status, a company must fly only nonstop tours no more than 25 miles from its departing airport.

Most helicopter tour companies in Hawai'i are certified Part 135 operators, which allows them to conduct more and longer tours, carry more passengers and operate larger aircraft.

Certification is an expensive proposition, but it means a company's pilots are held to the same standards as those who fly with major air carriers, with requirements for crew-member training, flight and duty-time limitations and rest requirements. Among other things, pilots must undergo a comprehensive initial training program consisting of flight and ground training, including flight-simulator training. Part 135 pilots must also experience annual FAA ride-along "checkrides" to ensure proficiency and safety and are subject to drug and alcohol testing.

In addition, aircraft operated under Part 135 regulations are held to a significantly higher standard of maintenance, including more inspections.

Bali Hai officials have declined to talk to the media since the crash.

As in any air accident, National Transportation Safety Board investigators will be examining the company's safety procedures, as well as the training and experience of the pilot in command. But FAA spokesperson Donn Walker said you can't assume that training standards and pilot experience are inferior at Part 91-regulated companies.

Indeed, prior to the crash, Bali Hai boasted a "perfect 30-year safety record," and an online search of FAA records found no accidents involving Bali Hai.

The company has been a part of an industry that has grown rapidly since 1980, despite numerous serious — and sometimes fatal — accidents. In 1982, there were about 63,000 helicopter tour flights in Hawai'i. Ten years later, the number had doubled.

By 1997, the Hawai'i scenic air tour industry was carrying 400,000 passengers a year, according to FAA estimates. Twenty-four operators conducted air tours under Part 135, using 77 aircraft. Of these 77 aircraft, 18 were airplanes and 59 were helicopters. The FAA estimated that 10 operators conducted air tours under Part 91, using 14 aircraft, of which eight were airplanes and six were helicopters.

Improving record

From 1989 to 1994, there were 18 air-tour accidents in Hawai'i, or an average of 3.46 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, according to FAA records. The number of accidents peaked at eight in 1994. In the following six years, there were only eight accidents, dropping to an average of 1.48 accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

The FAA, in proposing new national safety standards, points to the improving safety record in Hawai'i after special regulations were imposed here in 1994. SFAR-71 created minimum-altitude and visibility requirements, plus mandatory procedures for over-water operations. Those rules, along with the Part 135 requirement, are part of the proposed national standards now being considered by the FAA.

As for helicopter pilot training, tour pilots, at a minimum, must have a private helicopter pilot's license and a commercial license, requiring at least 150 hours of flight time. But no tour company in Hawai'i is going to hire anyone with such experience. In fact, helicopter insurers insist that tour companies hire pilots with at least 1,000 hours of experience or more, depending on the type of aircraft.

Most tour pilots in Hawai'i are hired after having accumulated flight-time elsewhere. For years the air tour industry was staffed with military-trained pilots who flew helicopters in Vietnam.

"There used to be a glut of pilots. But not anymore," said Dave Chevalier, owner of Maui-based Blue Hawaiian Helicopters and a former Vietnam helicopter pilot.

With Vietnam-trained pilots reaching retirement age, it's getting more difficult to maintain flight crews with the experience level previously expected in Hawai'i. Chevalier said that when he finds an experienced pilot with a top-flight resumé, he will overstaff his company rather than let the person get away.

Atsushi Ohara, owner of Offshore Helicopters, an O'ahu flight school and tour operation, said he's constantly looking for pilots to satisfy insurance demands for experience.

"It's a big problem," he said.

Ben Fouts, chief flight instructor and president of Mauna Loa Helicopters at Kona International Airport, said he's seen the minimum requirement for flight hours in Hawai'i drop in the last few years, in some cases from 10,000 hours to 3,000 hours.

But Fouts doesn't see any cause for worry. "There's not much of a difference. That's still a very experienced pilot," he said.

Being a helicopter pilot requires a great deal of concentration, and training and experience is essential — the more the better, said Ralph Hiatt, director of the Pacific Aerospace Training Center at Honolulu Community College and former military helicopter pilot instructor.

"It's intense and demanding to fly," he said.

Fixed-wing pilots can at times put a plane on cruise control, Hiatt said, but the chopper tour pilot must use both hands on controls while maneuvering in valleys and around mountains with unpredictable weather, plus be able to conduct a narrative. Training and experience in mountainous conditions, where weather changes rapidly, is important, Hiatt said.

Pilot training

A handful of companies in Hawai'i have even tougher requirements for pilot training, experience and equipment. They belong to a national program called TOPS, Tour Operators Program of Safety. Membership in TOPS demands, among other things, pilots with at least 1,000 hours of flight time in "typical terrain," which in Hawai'i means mountains.

But even the companies with stricter safety standards fall victim to crashes. Blue Hawaiian, one of six TOPS companies in Hawai'i, experienced a deadly crash in 'Iao Valley on Maui four years ago in which all seven aboard perished.

Since then, the company installed the state's first computerized warning system that uses a GPS database to call up a cockpit display of the terrain below for emergency use by pilots in heavy weather. The Honeywell-developed system also sounds an alarm if the craft gets close to hitting something.

The systems, which cost $25,000 apiece, have been installed in 10 Blue Hawaiian helicopters, and eight more are scheduled to get them.

"It's a lot of money, but we think it's a reasonable investment, considering the cost of the aircraft and the safety of our passengers," Chevalier said.

Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.