A 20-year-old helicopter pilot and son of the owner of a Kaua'i air tour company died early yesterday, two days after crashing into a Kaua'i reservoir as he attempted to collect water to drop on a brushfire.

Jonathon D'Attilio was president of Inter-Island Helicopters, and before the crash on Christmas Day was preparing to take control of the company and its six helicopters from his father, Ken D'Attilio.

The National Transportation Safety Board had the MD 369 helicopter Jonathon D'Attilio was flying removed from De Mello Reservoir Monday, and stored in a hangar at Lihu'e airport pending further investigation, said Nicole Charnon, air safety investigator with the NTSB.

Ken D'Attilio yesterday said he first took his son flying when the boy was 2, and saw him follow in his father's footsteps to become a fixed-wing and helicopter mechanic, and a pilot at age 17.

"He was a good pilot," Ken D'Attilio said. "I don't know what the NTSB is going to find, but I think they're going to find a mechanical failure of some sort. I don't believe that he was at fault with this. He wasn't a hot dog kind of guy.

"He was safety conscious, and he knew how to take care of the aircraft. That's what being a mechanic first and a pilot second does for you."

Ken D'Attilio said Jonathon had shared dual controls with Ken during previous water drops over brushfires, but said he believes the flight on Christmas Day was Jonathon's first solo flight using a water bucket dangling on a 25-foot line below the helicopter.

Inter-Island has a contract with Kaua'i County to provide helicopter services. Jonathon D'Attilio on Christmas Day flew a McDonnell Douglas MD369FF helicopter from Port Allen, and met with Kaua'i fire officials at Wilcox Memorial Hospital to have a water bucket attached to his helicopter.

From there D'Attilio was to collect water from De Mello Reservoir, and then make a drop on a brushfire burning at Kapaia Valley. At 6 p.m., Kaua'i fire officials received a report of a helicopter crash at the reservoir.

Rescuers from the Kaua'i Fire Department pulled D'Attilio from the partially overturned aircraft, and began administering CPR. D'Attilio was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. yesterday, Ken D'Attilio said.

NTSB investigator Charnon said there were some two-inch-diameter trees nearby that had been freshly sheered off. But she said it was too early to tell if a rotor blade struck the trees and caused the crash, or if it the trees were struck as the helicopter was on its way down.

There is no initial indication of a mechanical failure, but a more detailed study of the engine is necessary, she said. Charnon said she expects to study the wreckage after New Year's Day.

She said she has not been able to reach any witnesses to the crash, and asked that any people who saw the crash contact Kaua'i police or fire department officials.

Charnon said the NTSB will be collecting maintenance records for the aircraft as well as the pilot's records and qualifications, but said she does not know how much experience Jonathon D'Attilio had with this type of aircraft or in firefighting operations.

Kaua'i officials said an autopsy has been scheduled for tomorrow.

This was not the first accident involving an Inter-Island Helicopters aircraft under contract with Kaua'i County. On July 15, 2004 another pilot using the same model helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing that tipped the aircraft on its side after its main rotor struck a tree near Lihu'e airport.

The pilot was unharmed, but the landing did "substantial damage" to the helicopter. In that incident, NTSB investigators concluded the pilot's attention had been focused on a water bucket attached to the helicopter, and that he misjudged the clearance between the tree and the main rotor blades.

The federal investigators also cited the pilot's lack of experience with bucket operations as a contributing factor in the accident.

Jonathon D'Attilio lived on Kaua'i from 1986 to 1994, and attended Kalaheo Elementary and Kaua'i High School before moving to Pennington, N.J., where he graduated from high school.

An avid hunter and fly fisherman, Jonathon accompanied his father on jobs across the country, including working on counter-cannabis operations in Oklahoma, flying with his father to spot marijuana plants from the air, and attending a school to learn how to rappel from helicopters.

"He picked everything up real quick," Ken D'Attilio said. "He was just a great kid."

Jonathon D'Attilio trained at the Spokane Community College program for aircraft mechanics, and was trained as both a mechanic and pilot on the aircraft he was flying Sunday, his father said.

"You've got to start from the bottom and work your way up, and he was learning it all," his father said. "He was a smart kid, always got good grades. You didn't have to tell him to do things more than once." With his voice breaking, Ken D'Attilio added, "He wasn't just my son, he was my best friend."

Jonathon is survived by his father and his brothers Joel D'Attilio, Jeremiah D'Attilio, Joseph D'Attilio, and Justin D'Attilio, all of Cocolalla, Idaho. Ken D'Attilio said the family has not yet finalized funeral arrangements.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.