LIHUE — The owner of Safari Helicopters said he and his team are devastated by Thursday’s helicopter crash that claimed seven lives.
“Not just myself, but the entire family here at Safari Helicopters has been affected,” said Preston Myers in an interview with The Garden Island on Saturday. “I keep wondering what we could’ve done better that we have not done in the more than 30 years we’ve been here.”
The pilot at the time of the crash was Paul Matero, 69, a longtime employee with Safari, their chief pilot, with 12 years of experience on Kauai. He was planning to retire in July, Myers said.
Myers said not only was Matero a certified pilot, he was also a certified mechanic, arriving on Kauai with a history of helicopter work on the mainland, including flying for utility work like tree removals, agricultural work and passenger flying.
“He was totally experienced,” Myers said. “It’s still very hard to accept. He trained all of our pilots about the uncertainty of Kauai’s weather. We were training a new chief pilot who arrived here from Montana.”
Matero and two of the six
passengers, Amy Gannon, 47, and Jocelyn Gannon, 13, of Wisconsin, have been identified. The four other passengers are believed to be a family from Switzerland, and their identities have not been released by officials.
“We mourn with the family members of those who were lost in the tragic accident,” Myers said in a press release.
“The family of two of the passengers are still here, and we’re working with them,” Myers said. “The other passengers are from Europe and everything, including our insurance agency, has been referred to the Swiss embassy.”
The Safari helicopter was reported overdue Thursday evening at 6 p.m. while conducting a tour over Napali Coast.
The last contact with the helicopter was made about 4:40 p.m. when the pilot relayed that the tour was leaving the Waimea Canyon area.
“We don’t know what happened up there,” Myers said. “When we didn’t hear from him, we thought he had landed to sit out the weather. This is part of the pilot training — never head into bad weather. Paul is the one who trains our pilots on this. The final decision is always on the pilot, not someone sitting in a room trying to tell them what to do.”
Myers said the weather Thursday was “clear as a bell.”
“That was here in Lihue,” Myers said. “I was told by a pilot who left around 4:21 p.m. that there was weather coming in rapidly from Polihale. We thought our helicopter had landed to sit out this weather in some remote location where radio or cell phone service was not possible.”
Aircraft integrity was also not a consideration for the crash, Myers said.
“We had our aircraft inspected last week with the results recorded with the Federal Aviation Administration,” Myers said. “The craft involved in the accident was bought brand new in 1998 and maintained to our standard with major overhauls being done on time. This is like buying a car — you never expect it to run without even getting a flat. We took care of any of the mechanical problems as soon as it happened.”
Myers said Safari Helicopters would like to express its appreciation to members of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Kauai Fire Department, and many of our colleagues in the helicopter community who volunteered their help in the search operations.
“Safari is fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA to determine the cause of Thursday’s crash,” Myers said. “Safari is a family-owned-and-operated business. We are proud to have participated in the development of the helicopter tour industry since 1987. Our prayers and love go out to all that have been affected by this tragedy.”
Safari has ceased its operations while it gets through the initial phases of the investigation.
“We’re planning for a memorial service for everyone,” Myers said. “This is not just for the families of the accident victims, but for the community, for all who have been affected. This will take place on or about Jan. 2. We’ll talk about resuming operation after that.”
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
This is a tragic accident. It seems to me that flying a small engines airplane or helicopter is unsafe. All passengers died on the flight. How many was this? Sky diving accident, 7, and now this helicopter crash, 7, and add one more, 3. So that makes 14 total in a span of 2 years. All tour group companies. Can the FAA improve on this?
how about the age of the pilot ?
maybe he had a heart attack or something ?
how often is their health checked ?
I’m a pilot and I actually took a tour with Paul in April of this year. I can tell you he was an exceptional pilot. I would not have hesitated to fly with him again. He was safe, professional and competent. Safari is a top-notch outfit and as a pilot and someone who works in aviation maintenance I was impressed by their operations and especially Paul. My heart goes out to the families impacted and the team at Safari.
My boyfriend and I were passengers on one of Paul’s flights in April and felt extremely safe. He was knowledgeable about the landscape and talked a lot about Safari’s safety measures and safety in general. Paul was a great pilot and seemed like a decent guy. My heart goes out to all the families involved in the crash.
Wouldn’t it be better if there were NO inspections, NO weather advisories, NO oversight of the tourism industry, NO “looking into” the safety of tourist attractions e.g. zip-lines, water features, etc, and any other “red-tape” associated with regulation? Then when an accident like this happens, everyone can just say “the accident was an ACT OF GOD…”
Don’t be so glib during this sad time.
Are you serious?
These helicopters fly non stop and unless you work around the airport or live under the flightpath you have no idea the number of helicopter tours there really are each and every day. So sad that this happened to people while having the thrill of a lifetime. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family. Terribly sorry.
I agree with you Adam.We were just discussing this tragic accident last night.Paul was our pilot when we spent Christmas 2016 in Kauai and not only was he a lovely person whose passion was flying tours on the Island, but he was a fit, true professional who took safety seriously..It saddened our family to hear this news..we are from British Columbia and had never been in a helicopter which can be daunting but we felt safe and secure the whole trip..a memory will we will not forget..condolences to his family and friends..
So sad that when something tragic or bad happens everyone wants to point fingers and find someone to blame!
randy kansas December 28, 2019 5:46 pm Reply
how about the age of the pilot ?
maybe he had a heart attack or something ?
how often is their health checked ?
Really?? You think that this chief pilot who was flying for years and loved his job would take the risk of having a heartache during his flight ?? You think he wanted to die a kill 6 of his passengers? I don’t think so. I would think if he was unhealthy he would have retired earlier. He was supposed retire next year. People should stop blaming and start praying for these families. So sad my condolences to all of this family. My prayers are with all of you, families, coworkers, and friends.
My husband and I flew with Paul in March of 2018. He was very professional, kind and made the trip exciting and fun. He was very knowledgeable. Before taking off Paul and Safari Helicopters reviewed safety regulations and all was discussed with us. We flew again with Safari this past November on a different Island, once again the pilot was very professional and discussed safety. She even said if the weather became an issue, she would land or return to keep us safe. For anyone to make negative comments about this accident should rethink before doing so. Our hearts and prayers extend to all the families and friends as well as Safari.
My wife and I have flown with Safari 10 times, including with Paul in 2017. The Safari flight was always the highlight of our Kauai vacation. Our hearts ache for the families of all those who perished, and for the entire Safari family. When our entire family joined us for our 50th wedding anniversary on Kauai last August, Paul flew half of our family, and Kyle who was to succeed Paul as chief pilot flew the other half. Paul was a true professional, as was Kyle and everyone at Safari. May the memories of all 7 lives be a blessing.
How can you make a comment like that?? Paul was an awesome person & full of life. Could you please refrain from such heartless questions. Thanks.
This really is such tragic news. My family and I took this exact same tour in March of 2019 with Paul as our pilot. He was so professional, he even discussed the approaching shifts in pressure and was so informative. I was nervous before the flight but he made us all feel safe and at ease. You could tell he had a lot of experience. Safari was also extremely professional and made us all feel safe, like we were in good hands. There are countless helicopters that take off every day for tours. It sounds like a freak accident. I’m so sorry for everyone involved.