LIHU’E — According to federal investigators, the pilot of the Heli USA Airways helicopter that crashed into the ocean Friday did so after performing an evasive maneuver to avoid another helicopter. Glen Lampton, identified as the pilot of the helicopter
LIHU’E — According to federal investigators, the pilot of the Heli USA Airways helicopter that crashed into the ocean Friday did so after performing an evasive maneuver to avoid another helicopter.
Glen Lampton, identified as the pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the ocean near Ha’ena Point on the North Shore, killing three of the six people on board, told federal investigators he had nearly successfully completed a 180-degree turn to avoid a McDonald Douglas helicopter, before the Heli USA Airways Aerospatiale helicopter hit a severe rain storm and crashed into the ocean, said Debra Eckrote, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lead investigator.
The newest information came during a media briefing at Lihu’e Airport yesterday, the same day all six on the aircraft were also first identified, some four days after the crash.
The delay in releasing the names of the victims and survivors, which county officials said was caused by inability to notify next of kin of the three who died as a result of the crash, led to many moments of trepidation for families and friends of people who were vacationing on Kaua’i and had planned to take helicopter tours.
Reporters at The Garden Island fielded several telephone calls and e-mails from people who weren’t able to contact friends and loved ones on Kaua’i and were worried about their safety after word spread about the Friday fatal crash.
After interviewing Lampton, Eckrote said Lampton indicated that the appearance of an MD500 helicopter caused him to execute an evasive maneuver.
Lampton was able to identify the type of craft based on his experience, Eckrote said. He was about 160 degrees into the 180-degree turn when he got hit by the wall of rain, Eckrote said. At that point, Lampton told Eckrote he continued to maintain his coast reference, and did everything he could to maintain control of his ship, she said.
The helicopter “kissed the water surface before bottoming out,” Eckrote said, noting that wreckage evidence verified the rear-rotor and tail-boom impact with the water surface.
Mayday calls were sent out by Lampton at the bottom of his descent, she said.
Eckrote explained that that impact caused the loss of the rear rotor, resulting in a counterclockwise spin of the helicopter described by Lampton, who was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Lampton held the disabled helicopter on the water before it went over on its right side.
Eckrote said that the pilot of the MD500 was off-island, and she will interview him when he returns to Kaua’i.
Dying in the crash were Catherine Baron, 62, and Mary H. Soucy, 67, both of Portland, Maine, friends who were traveling together, and Laverne Clifton, 69, a male tourist from Beloit, Wisc. Surviving the crash were Lampton; Karen Clifton, the daughter of the deceased man; and Karen Clifton’s new husband, Bill Thorson.
Eckrote said the pilot of the MD500 radioed Lampton and told him he would radio for assistance. The pilot of the MD500 (it was not known at presstime what company the pilot flies for) was low on fuel and with a load of passengers, Eckrote said.
The pilot of a second Heli USA Airways helicopter who was following behind the disabled craft, heard the mayday calls from the descending helicopter, she said.
Eckrote explained that he, too, was low on fuel, and had a load of passengers, but landed on the beach to offload passengers so he could rejoin the search operation. At that point, Eckrote pointed out that some of the passengers opted to stay with the pilot and lend their efforts in the search.
At the decision of the pilot, the pilot of that second Heli USA Airways craft continued search operations until fuel levels forced him to land and wait for fuel to arrive from their ground crew.
In answer to reporters’ questions, Eckrote said that, based on interviews with Lampton, all the passengers were conscious prior to the rollover point, and the two front passengers were in the process of getting their life preservers on.
Eckrote said that representatives of an insurance company have made arrangements to have the wreckage stored on the island pending completion of the investigation.
Eckrote said Tuesday afternoon that she had pretty much wrapped up her investigation of the wreckage, and would be turning it over to the insurance people.
Eckrote said that, after investigating the wreckage, including the helicopter’s air frame and engine, “There is no evidence of failure or malfunction” from those components.
In search for answers, Eckrote said she is waiting on meteorology reports from their own meteorological experts. Additional radar data is being coordinated through FAA officials, she said.
Company Vice President Jack Power said Heli USA’s pilots are trained both in Las Vegas and in Hawai’i, but declined to comment specifically on Lampton’s training and experience.
Power said because the crash was now the subject of a federal investigation under the auspices of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) he could not comment.
Several local helicopter-industry insiders questioned whether the pilots are adequately trained for Kaua’i conditions, which are much different than in Nevada and Arizona, where Heli USA conducts tours of the Grand Canyon.
NTSB investigator Nicole Charnon said they did have data on Lampton’s training and flight hours, but did not have it all spelled out yet, and didn’t have the exact number of hours flown in Hawai’i.
She said this information would likely be available in the preliminary report. Survivors reported entering a “wall of rain,” just as the Heli USA helicopter carrying six people flew over the ocean.
Lampton had time to instruct his passengers to prepare to evacuate before the crash, NTSB investigators said.
Lampton was reportedly at about the 2,000-foot-elevation mark, and was traveling northeast from Waimea Canyon toward Na Pali Coast, Charnon said.
Charnon said NTSB investigators would be departing Kaua’i Thursday.
“They are collecting information to try and get the real reason for the accident,” said Power. He said Heli USA operates one helicopter on O’ahu, and now three on Kaua’i. He said that, on average, company officials offer seven or eight trips a day.
Heli USA leaders employ only highly-experienced tour pilots whose average flight time is over 5,000 hours. Pilots are trained in accordance with FAA, Part 135 requirements, to the same standards of major air carriers, according to the company’s Web site.
According to its Web site, prior to Friday, Heli USA Airways had flown more than 600,000 passengers with no accidents or major incidents.
Heli USA’s internal safety and training program provides for an FAA-designated check airman on staff. Quality control and factory-trained, FAA-certified technicians are also employed on premises for ongoing maintenance programs, according to the Web site. Heli USA is a member of the Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS), which pro-actively promotes helicopter sightseeing safety, the Web site indicates.
