Veteran helicopter pilots Gardner Brown and Chuck DiPiazza talk about that “gray area,” that place you don’t want to be. That is that palpable, sometimes-unexpected moment when a pilot enters a dangerous situation, sometimes of his own creation. Then what?
Veteran helicopter pilots Gardner Brown and Chuck DiPiazza talk about that “gray area,” that place you don’t want to be.
That is that palpable, sometimes-unexpected moment when a pilot enters a dangerous situation, sometimes of his own creation.
Then what?
“Many accidents are based upon poor judgment and decision-making,” said Brown, who by his own admission is almost totally focused on helicopter flight safety.
“The decision-making process cannot be turned into technology. There are so many distractions,” said Brown, a professional pilot for 35 years and director of operations for Will Squyres Helicopter Service.
DiPiazza, also an experienced pilot and owner of Air Kauai Helicopter Tours, said he has a 100-percent commitment to safety that allows for no gray areas for pilots, such as flying into weather, venturing too far offshore, or flying at excessive speeds.
“We’re here to promote safety. Not every company has that attitude,” he said.
Brown agreed safety is paramount.
“My part of the contract is to do all we agreed to do where the safety and well-being will be taken care of. Pilots have to adhere to procedures and regulations,” Brown said.
But DiPiazza said many Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations are not enforced. He said pilots have to be within gliding distance of the shoreline. This distance is dependent upon altitude, but he implied that a helicopter pilot in command of a craft should not venture too far offshore.
While not speaking directly about or critiquing what happened Friday when a Heli USA Airways helicopter crashed into the sea off Ha’ena, Brown and Di-Piazza touched upon some hypothetical situations and safety issues that concern them.
“If because of weather you don’t have at least a mile’s visibility, then you should slow down, travel at a comfortable rate, and turn around,” he said.
Brown said the margin for error increases, and the time to turn around decreases, when a pilot is facing a strong weather system and flying too fast.
He said traveling at 100 mph gives a pilot about 30 seconds to determine his course and make adjustments. He said it would take about a minute for a pilot to make a 180-degree turn while traveling at a comfortable rate for the passengers.
“The basic rule of flying is always know you’re right side up. You’re ability to make judgments is based by what you see. What happens is that pilots flying into those areas (walls of rain) lose (visual) contact with the ground.”
“If there is a weather issue, don’t fly,” said DiPiazza, adding that experience levels among local pilots varies greatly.
Brown works closely with safety consultants Vernon Albert and Bruce Mayes. He said another area of safety concerns were helicopter companies whose owners and operators offer “incentives” to pilots to complete their 45-minute tours ahead of schedule, to save money on parts maintenance.
DiPiazza said his company does not operate more than seven tours a day. He said they shut down helicopters for 15 minutes between flights to do a 10-point “turn-around” check. He said this allows the pilots a chance to stretch their legs and relieve some tension before having to fly again.
Brown said he did not have exact statistics relating to helicopter fatalities for each of the islands.
He said successive incidents in the mid 1990s involving one fatal North Shore crash and then an incident the following day off the coast of Moloka’i led FAA leaders to impose restrictions on tour operators.
“I think these companies are under a lot of pressure,” said Wally Roberts, a part-time Princeville resident and retired airline pilot who is still active in aviation consulting. Roberts, who has had helicopter training, said he thought helicopter maintenance was more demanding than that for airplanes.
“It’s a high-risk operation It’s amazing they do as well as they do,” he said, adding anecdotally that it is his impression Kaua’i is more dangerous than other islands because of its volatile weather patterns.
Brown, who has flown tours on virtually every Hawaiian island, said it is up to the pilot to adapt to circumstances.
In a related matter, Kaua’i helicopter operators are scheduled to meet today, Wednesday, Sept. 28, with state Department of Transportation Airports Division representatives, to discuss plans for the Lihu’e Airport heliport.
Among the issues schedule to be discussed, according to Brown, include the number of parking stalls allotted each company, updates on improvements done to Ahukini Road, and other issues.
Local operators have had an ongoing dispute with DOT officials concerning the allotment of helipads and the alleged abuses of the so-called waiting list for space. Veteran operators have argued that relative newcomers like Heli USA and Blue Hawaiian have been granted spaces in front of owners and operators of longer-established companies.
