US Recent Aviation Accident
Title | Aircraft Accident Brief: Weather Encounter |
Description | Weather Encounter and Subsequent Crash into the Pacific Ocean, Heli-USA Airways, Inc., Aerospatiale AS350BA, N355NT, Haena, Hawaii, September 23, 2005 | NTSB Report Number | AAB-07-01, adopted on 3/5/2007 | NTIS Report Number | null |
Related Information | |
On September 23, 2005, about 1415 Hawaiian standard time, 1 an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N355NT, registered to Jan Leasing, LLC, and operated by Heli- USA Airways, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, encountered adverse weather and crashed into the Pacific Ocean several hundred feet off the coast of Kailiu Point, near Haena, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The sightseeing air tour flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 and visual flight rules (VFR) with a company flight plan in effect. Localized instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. Three passengers were killed, and the commercial pilot and two other passengers received minor injuries. The flight departed from Lihue Airport (LIH), Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, at 1354 for the intended 45-minute tour. The flight was operated under Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 71, “Special Operating Rules for Air Tour Operators in the State of Hawaii,” 2 and in accordance with a certificate of waiver or authorization approved for Heli-USA by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Honolulu Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) in Honolulu, Hawaii 3 The flight proceeded westbound from LIH, which is on the southeastern part of the island, on the operator’s standard clockwise tour route around the island | |