3 in Hawaii copter crash ID’d

HONOLULU — Tour helicopter operations in Hawaii are under increased scrutiny after a deadly crash last week, one of several recent accidents in the state, with a congressman calling the trips unsafe and lacking proper oversight.

There were no survivors of the Thursday tour helicopter crash that killed three minors and four adults, officials confirmed Saturday.

The helicopter that was set to tour the rugged Na Pali Coast, the picturesque and remote northern shoreline of Kauai, crashed on a mountaintop.

The remains of six people were recovered Friday and the seventh is still missing. Kauai police confirmed there were no survivors based in part on the nature of the crash and impact damage, officials said in a statement. Recovery efforts were suspended Saturday afternoon.

There were six people from two families and a pilot on the flight.

Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) cited fatal accidents over the years, blaming the Federal Aviation Administration for not taking National Transportation Safety Board safety improvement efforts seriously and the industry for not regulating itself.

“Tour helicopter and small aircraft operations are not safe, and innocent lives are paying the price,” Case said. “In our Hawaii alone, the industry, while stridently arguing that it is safe and sensitive to neighborhoods, has in fact ignored any sensible safety improvements, instead dramatically increasing in recent years its volume of flights, at all times of day and night, in seemingly all weather over more residential neighborhoods and to more risky and remote locations, at lower altitudes, while completely failing to address ground safety and community disruption concerns.”

The FAA conducts random and regular surveillance on all Hawaii air tour operators and ensures companies address any issues, spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email. He said the FAA does not have concerns about the industry statewide.

Police said Saturday that the flight manifest listed the pilot in Thursday’s crash as Paul Matero, 69, of Wailua, Hawaii. Two passengers were named as Amy Gannon, 47, and Jocelyn Gannon, 13, of Wisconsin.

The four other passengers, including two girls who were 10 and 13 years old, are believed to be from Switzerland, police said, but their identities have not yet been released. Autopsies are pending.

The helicopter company, identified as Safari Helicopters, contacted the Coast Guard on Thursday evening after the helicopter did not return to the airport as scheduled. A search began, but steep terrain, low visibility, choppy seas and rain complicated the search.

A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Safari Helicopters declined to comment.

According to a preliminary report, the pilot said the tour was leaving the Waimea Canyon area, known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” about 4:40 p.m., which was the last contact with the helicopter, Kauai police said.

The Eurocopter AS350 has an emergency electronic locator transmitter, but no signals were received despite the locator devices being designed to activate when an aircraft crashes.

Gregor said the FAA requires the locators to be able to withstand impact, but it is possible for the device to stop working in an extreme crash.

He said the agency is looking at the company’s safety record but probably won’t have a full report until Monday. The NTSB announced Friday that it was sending three investigators to Kauai.

The NTSB aviation accident database lists nine crashes of Hawaii helicopter sightseeing f lights in the last 10 years, including three with fatalities.

After a Hawaii skydiving plane crashed and killed 11 people in June, the NTSB called on the FAA to tighten its regulations governing parachute operations. The FAA said at the time that it had made changes to address NTSB recommendations.

Towering mountains with deep ravines and huge waterfalls make up the interior of the uninhabited state park where the helicopter crashed Thursday.

Ladd Sanger, a Texasbased aviation attorney and helicopter pilot who has handled several crash cases involving similar helicopters in Hawaii, said tour operators on Kauai face unique challenges because of weather and topography.

Kauai “has microclimates, so the weather at the airport is going to be different than up at the crash location,” Sanger said. “Those microclimates can come on very quickly and dissipate quickly too, so the weather reporting is difficult.”

A Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman said winter brings more rain and turbulent seas.