LIHUE — While Tweets from the Federal Aviation Administration announced a temporary ban on specific “doors off” helicopter tours on Friday, doors-off tours are still ongoing in Hawaii.
The temporary ban was incited by a March 11 Liberty Helicopter chopper crash in New York’s East River in which five people died and passengers had to be cut out of their harnesses. The pilot was the sole survivor.
Staff members from Jack Harter Helicopters, which operates the only doors-off helicopter tour on Kauai, said the company is continuing to offer the tours because their harnesses aren’t the same kind utilized by Liberty Helicopter and can be quickly released in an emergency.
“Our understanding is that the FAA has or will be restricting flights in helicopters with the doors removed as follows: ‘the #FAA will order no more “doors off” operations that involve restraints that cannot be released quickly in an emergency.’,” said Casey Riemer, Jack Harter general manager. “Our passenger restraints can be released quickly in an emergency. Therefore, there are no new restrictions on our tour or utility flights.”
Jack Harter Helicopters operates five helicopters, four of which are flown with the doors removed.
The information from the FAA was delivered in a series of Tweets on Friday that say:
“Helicopter operators, pilots &consumers should be aware of the hazard from supplemental restraint devices during an emergency evacuation during “doors off” flights. The FAA will order operators &pilots to take immediate action to control/mitigate this risk.
“…Until then, the FAA will order no more “doors off” operations that involve restraints that cannot be released quickly in an emergency.”
The FAA Friday also promised to conduct a review of the rules governing doors-off tours for potential passenger safety issues.
Hawaii Island-based Paradise Helicopters doesn’t use the type of harnesses or aircraft involved in the Liberty Helicopter incident either, according to a statement from Calvin Dorn, CEO of Paradise Helicopters.
“The ‘doors-off’ flights that our guests have enjoyed for 20 years will continue to operate without interruption,” Dorn said. “We actively work to identify and mitigate risk and use best practices for all operations. This includes using FAA-approved seatbelts with quick releases on our flights as well as conducting specific passenger safety training prior to each flight.”
The draw for open-door flights, are the unobstructed views of places like the the Hawaii Island volcanoes or Kauai’s Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon.
On Kauai, there are several different companies who offer tours. In addition to standard doors-on helicopter tours, some companies offer landing options like Island Helicopters’ landing at the base of Manawaiopuna Falls (Jurassic Park Falls).
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Jessica Else is the environment reporter at The Garden Island.She can be reached at jelse@thegardenisland.com.
