WAILUKU, Maui -- Six passengers and a pilot were killed when a
sightseeing helicopter from Blue Hawaiian Helicopters of Maui
crashed in rugged mountains near here July 21.
Forty-seven people have died in Hawaii air tour crashes in the
last eight years; 23 of those deaths occurred in the last two
years. The Blue Hawaiian helicopter was flying near the Iao Valley
on a 35-minute tour when it crashed.
The Newark (N.J) Star-Ledger said that four of the victims were
members of a Shrewsbury, N.J., family. William John Jordan; his
wife, Dr. Jan Herscovitz; and their teen-age children, Max and
Lindsey Jordan. Also killed were two friends from Texas: Natalie
Prince, 14, of Fort Worth, and Whitney Wood, 14, of Burleson. The
pilot was identified as Larry Kirsch, 55, of Maui.
Hawaii's largest helicopter sightseeing company, Blue Hawaiian
Helicopters was founded in 1985 and had not had an accident until
now.
At a press conference called by the National Transportation
Safety Board at the Maui airport, Blue Hawaiian co-owner Patti
Chavalier said, "In the 15 years we have been in business, with
over 150,000 hours of flight time, we have never before had an
incident or accident."
Chevalier said the pilot had more than 12,000 hours of flying
time.
"We never expected anything could happen with all the things we
do for safety," she said.
Asked if her view of helicopter safety had changed after the
crash, Chevalier said, "We would be open to anything we could learn
from whatever the investigation tells us."
NTSB air safety investigator Wayne Pollack said he is looking at
Blue Hawaiian's helicopter maintenance records, the pilot's
employment record and familiarity with the helicopter he was
flying.
Pollack said that at the time of the crash, wind speeds at the
Kahului airport 10 miles from the crash site were gusting from 26
to 33 mph and there were layers of clouds at 2,000 and 3,800
feet.
The helicopter crashed at an altitude of 2,700 feet and was
moving at about 69 mph, according to radar data, said Pollack.
The crash site is just "a couple of hundred feet" below the top
of a ridge, said Pollack.
The terrain was so steep at the wreckage site that workers had
to repel down cliffs to retrieve the bodies.
Blue Hawaiian flies over 140,000 passengers a year. It offers
tours on Maui, the Big Island and Molokai. Before the crash, it
operated 16 six-passenger helicopters.
Blue Hawaiian co-owner Dave Chevalier founded the Tour Operator
Program of Safety (TOPS) two years ago, subjecting his company to
helicopter safety standards which exceed federal rules, according
to the company's Web site.
The TOPS program, which includes Blue Hawaiian and another
operator, calls for an independent safety audit of company
operations every other year and an internal audit in alternate
years.