Copter wreckage yields few clues so far
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
HA'IKU, Kaua'i — A search team yesterday recovered the remaining wreckage of a Bell 206B JetRanger that crashed into a Kaua'i mountainside Sept. 24, killing five people.
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Nicole Charnon said her first review of the wreckage suggests that the helicopter was operating normally at the time of impact, although considerable review and testing is still required.
A crew yesterday removed the remaining wreckage of a Bell 206B helicopter off a Kaua'i mountainside. Five people were killed when the Bali Hai Helicopter Tours craft crashed Sept. 24.
The Bali Hai Helicopter Tours aircraft struck a near-vertical ridge about 200 feet below the ridge line. Other helicopter pilots told the NTSB that they had seen the helicopter, which crashed in the afternoon, cross the ridge in the same general location twice before on that day.
The spot is not an authorized tour helicopter crossing location, but would function as a shortcut to the next stop on a Bali Hai helicopter tour, the Manawaipuna waterfall, also known as "Jurassic Falls" from its appearance in the "Jurassic Park" films.
While the ridge crossing is not on the FAA-authorized route, it would be acceptable as long as the pilot maintained sufficient height above the ground, and clearance below clouds. Charnon said she will be looking at radar data and information from other pilots and passengers of other flights to determine whether the aircraft maintained the required clearances.
Charnon said she and other NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration investigators are continuing the review of the documents associated with the helicopter and its operation, the interviews of other pilots and Bali Hai personnel and the inspection of the wreckage.
Search team members yesterday said they found a document binder among the wreckage, but that most of the paperwork in it burned when the helicopter caught fire.
Pilot Tom Klassen worked with rescue specialists Buddy Wilson, Danny Smith and Roy Constantino, using a Hughes 500 helicopter, to complete the recovery of wreckage, which was brought from the ridge line in cargo nets. The gear included rotor blades, aluminum engine housings, seat cushions and other material.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
