A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report was released today on an Island Hoppers Cessna tour airplane that disappeared in a dense Big Island rain forest on June 17 with the pilot and two Japanese tourists

The report said the plane was "substantially damaged following impact with terrain near Pahala."

The crash generated an island-wide, multi-agency search. The wreckage was located on June 22 in a remote area of the Ka'u Forest reserve at the 5,200-foot elevation.

Killed were pilot Katsuhiro Takahashi, 40; and passengers Nobuhiro Suzuki, 53; and his wife Masako Suzuki, 56; of Japan's Chiba prefecture.

The report indicated that the weather conditions at the time of take off in Kailua, Kona two hours before the accident offered sufficient visibility.

The NTSB cautioned that the report is preliminary and that it is subject to change. The final report on the probable cause of the crash will not be concluded for several months.