Kauai: Helicopter crash results in fatalities

[DeniseM]

Helicopter crash results in fatalities - The Garden Island

Helicopter crash results in fatalities – Hawaii News | The Garden Island

www.thegardenisland.com

 

[sponger76]

Helicopter crash results in fatalities - The Garden Island

Helicopter crash results in fatalities – Hawaii News | The Garden Island

www.thegardenisland.com

Sadly, these seem to happen way too often in Hawai'i, going back to when I was growing up. I've only done one civilian helicopter flight in my life (a tour on Kaua'i), which went fine, but I'm still wary of them. I've had a lot more flights in military helicopters, but I'm still nervous every single time. Yet I'm completely fine flying in airplanes.

 

[slip]

I saw this yesterday too but I didn't see a complete story, just a headline.

 

[DeniseM]

Update: https://www.thegardenisland.com/202...tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_news

 

[willowglener]

I went on a helicopter tour on Kauai with a different company 2 days prior to the accident. I was completely at ease with the pilot and the flight. But if the accident happened before my flight, I would have cancelled.


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[Henry M.]

The update is paywalled...

 

[DeniseM]

There is a link on the page to sign up for a free Acct.

 

[JIMinNC]

I went on a helicopter tour on Kauai with a different company 2 days prior to the accident. I was completely at ease with the pilot and the flight. But if the accident happened before my flight, I would have cancelled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was a multi-fatality auto accident not long ago on Maui, but would that have made you less likely to rent a car? There is risk in everything we do in our lives. My advice is don’t let fear of death cause you to be afraid to live. That’s my 2 cents as a pilot and aviation advocate, so I am admittedly not unbiased.

 

[ScoopKona]

There was a multi-fatality auto accident not long ago on Maui, but would that have made you less likely to rent a car? There is risk in everything we do in our lives. My advice is don’t let fear of death cause you to be afraid to live. That’s my 2 cents as a pilot and aviation advocate, so I am admittedly not unbiased.

I just had this discussion with someone on another travel site.

At the speeds I drive, I'm walking away from any crash I'm potentially going to be involved in. Thanks to a good insurance policy, it will be, at best, a minor inconvenience. I rarely get all the way up to 35mph. And maybe twice a year will I hit 50mph. Driving on the Big Island is almost like having an governor on your throttle.

If a tourist helicopter mast bumps and there's massive rotor damage, that thing has the glide ratio of a brick. And "where t'hell did this weather come from" is common statewide, but particularly Kauai.

Instead of "afraid to live," I look at this as risk vs. reward. What's the risk? What am I getting for this risk? In the case of Hawaii tourist helicopters, that answer is "a photo that I could get on a boat or by hiking."

We have a crash nearly every year, with six happening in 2018 -- during the last big Kilauea eruption. People wanted to see lava flowing into the sea. But people on boats were being injured by flying debris. Flying a helicopter into nature's flak storm seems foolhardy to me.

 

[easyrider]

We have been on a few helicopter tours. They were fun. The tour from Kauia was really scenic and memorable and on my sil's bucket list which made it more enjoyable in a way.

Bill

 

[Henry M.]

I feel more at risk driving to the airport than flying in a small plane or helicopter. There are plenty of deadly car accidents just around where I live, compared to nationwide aviation accidents. I've flown with a couple of helicopter companies in Kauai, and had a great time. I've had closer encounters with a potential bad endings in some of the beaches when currents have suddenly gone wrong. Still, I swim and wouldn't hesitate to SCUBA dive in those same beaches.

 

[JIMinNC]

I just had this discussion with someone on another travel site.

At the speeds I drive, I'm walking away from any crash I'm potentially going to be involved in. Thanks to a good insurance policy, it will be, at best, a minor inconvenience. I rarely get all the way up to 35mph. And maybe twice a year will I hit 50mph. Driving on the Big Island is almost like having an governor on your throttle.

If a tourist helicopter mast bumps and there's massive rotor damage, that thing has the glide ratio of a brick. And "where t'hell did this weather come from" is common statewide, but particularly Kauai.

Instead of "afraid to live," I look at this as risk vs. reward. What's the risk? What am I getting for this risk? In the case of Hawaii tourist helicopters, that answer is "a photo that I could get on a boat or by hiking."

We have a crash nearly every year, with six happening in 2018 -- during the last big Kilauea eruption. People wanted to see lava flowing into the sea. But people on boats were being injured by flying debris. Flying a helicopter into nature's flak storm seems foolhardy to me.

Driving on the Big Island two-lane curvy roads, even if you are driving at 35 mph, your life could come to an end if a car or truck in the opposite direction was speeding and crossed the centerline. With cars, you are only as safe as the drivers driving near you. That is a risk most people willingly accept. If you think that risk is acceptable but helicopters aren't, that is your freedom to make that choice, but the reality is, both carry risk that is out of your control.

As far as the reward you are getting for the risk of flying in a helicopter, I don't think you could get these shots that I've gotten from Hawaii helicopters and aircraft over the years from a boat or a hike. The air is one of the best ways to view the beauty of Hawaii.

Kauai's Napali Coast

North shore of Kauai

Pu'u O'o crater on the Big Island in 2005

Off shore from the Road to Hana on Maui with an air-to-air shoot for an aviation magazine article in 2008

The northwestern coast of Maui in 2022

 

[Henry M.]

Beautiful pictures!