Pilot was owner of aviation company

Advertiser Staff

KULA, Maui — A National Transportation Safety Board investigator was on Maui yesterday searching for clues to help figure out why a twin-engine plane crashed on the slopes of Haleakala Sunday night, killing the pilot.

The pilot was tentatively identified yesterday as 54-year-old Ward Mareels, owner of Ward

Air Aviation Inc. of Kailua, O'ahu. The plane, a Cessna 310, is registered to WardAir.

Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Maui Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division said the wife of the pilot identified the body this morning, but it must be confirmed using forensic methods such as fingerprinting and dental records.

The pilot's body was thrown 30 yards from where the plane crashed in a pasture at the 3,700-foot level above Keokea at about 9:26 p.m. Sunday, officials said.

The Cessna took off from Kahului Airport at 9:18 p.m. and was headed to Kona when the Kahului air control tower lost radar and radio contact with the plane six minutes later, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Originally from Belgium, Mareels became a U.S. citizen and had lived in Hawai'i for more than 10 years, friends said. He was a former United Airlines pilot, with more than 20,000 hours of flying time, they said.

Mareels was also a male mid-wife. Eiko Cusick, a member of the Midwives Alliance of Hawai'i, said Mareels was well respected in the field.

"He was a great guy, a great midwife," Cusick said. "It's a huge loss for moms looking for midwives."