# Accident 19980625014999A: Snias AS350BA, Lihue, HI, June 25, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 25, 1998, 09:32 local time - Place: Lihue, HI - Airport: Lihue Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: OHAA - Location: 21.9707° N, 159.3499° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.9707&lon=-159.3499&mi=10 - Aircraft: N594BK, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N594BK-2001-03-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 BA (registry code 8680955, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-ba) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350BA - Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL1B - People aboard: 6 - Fatal injuries: 6 - Pilot flight hours: 3,170 total, 220 in this make and model, 220 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98FA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA211) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980625014999A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. NO WEATHER BRIEF PRIOR FLIGHT. CRASHED INTO SOUTH CRATER RIDGE OF A VOLCANO. CONTINUED INTO IMC VFR. (.4) ON JUNE 25, 1998, ABOUT 0930 HOURS HAWAIIAN STANDARD TIME, A EUROCOPTER, AS-350-BA, N594BK, OPERATED BY OHANA HELICOPTER TOURS, COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN NEAR MT. WAIALEALE, KAUAI, HAWAII. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND THE 5 PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED DURING THE ON-DEMAND SIGHTSEEING AIR TAXI FLIGHT WHICH WAS BEING PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR 135. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE LIHUE AIRPORT, KAUAI, HAWAII, AT 0843. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO PROVIDE THE PASSENGERS WITH AN AERIAL TOUR OF THE ISLAND OF THE ISLAND OF KAUAI. THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND IT WAS KNOWN BY THE OPERATOR AS ITS "MOKIHANA" TOUR ROUTE. THIS ROUTE CIRCUMNAVIGATES THE ILAND AND PROVIDES FOR VIEWING SPECIFIC TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. THE FLIGHT NORMALLY LASTS 48 TO 50 MINUTES. THE OPERATOR'S PRESIDENT REPORTED THAT ON JUNE 25, IT COMMENCED FLIGHT OPERATIONS FOR THE DAY UPON THE DEPARTURE OF ITS THREE AS-350 HELICOPTERS FROM THE LIHUE AIRPORT. THE LIHUE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PERSONNEL INDICATED THAT THE HELICOPTERS TOOK OFF IN TRAIL ABOUT 0840, 0842, AND 0843. THE HELICOPTER'S REGISTRATION NUMBERS WERE, RESPECTIVELY, N592BK, N593BK, AND N594BK. THE OPERATOR'S PRESIDENT ALSO REPORTED THAT THE HELICOPTERS WERE SCHEDULED TO FLY IDENTICAL TOURS. PILOTING THE FIRST HELICOPTER WAS THE COMPANY CHIEF PILOT. THE COMPANY'S SECOND MOST EXPERIENCED LINE PILOT FLEW THE SECOND HELICOPTER, AND THE ACCIDENT PILOT, WHO HAD BEEN EMPLOYED FOR ABOUT 2.5 MONTHS, WAS THE LAST TO DEPART. THE PILOTS FLYING THE FIRST AND SECOND HELICOPTERS REPORTED THAT THEY MAINTAINED RADIO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE ACCIDENT PILOT THROUGHOUT THEIR FLIGHTS. AT NO TIME DID THEY HEAR ANY INDICATION FROM THE ACCIDENT PILOT THAT HE WAS EXPERIENCING ANY MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE HELICOPTER. THESE PILOTS REPORTED TO THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR THAT THEY BELIEVED THEIR FLIGHTS HAD BEEN PERFORMED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE OPERATOR'S PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED ROUTE OF FLIGHT. NO UNUSUAL CONDITIONS WERE ENCOUNTERED. THE FIRST AND SECOND HELICOPTERS LANDED BACK AT THE LIHUE AIRPORT ABOUT 0929 AND 0931, RESPECTIVELY. NEITHER OF THE PILOT REPORTED HAVINBG OBSERVED THE ACCIDENT. MINUTES PRIOR TO THE CRASH TEH COMPANY PILOT FLYING THE SECOND HELICOPTER WAS IN RADIO CONTACT WITH THE ACCIDENT PILOT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE SECOND PILOT MADE A STATEMENT TO THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR REGARDING HIS RECOLLECTION OF THESE COMMUNICATIONS, AS FOLLOWS: HE REPORTED THAT, BY REGULATION, HE HAD ANNOUNCED HIS POSITION USING THE COMMON A.C RADIO FREQUENCY BY STATING "THREE BRAVO KILO NORTH WALL." AT THIS TIME IT WAS ABOUT 0920. LIGHT TO MODERATE INTENSITY RAIN WAS FALLING BUT THE RAIN STOPPED AT THE MOUTH OF THE CRATER. THE CEILING WAS ABOUT 3,000 FEET MSL AT THE CRATER'S ENTRANCE. THE SECOND PILOT INDICATED THAT IT TOOL HIM ABOUT 2 MINUTES TO FLY IN AND OUT OF THE CRATER. THE RAIN INTENSITY WAS INCREASING AND WAS BECOMING HEAVY AS HE WAS LEAVING. AT THIS TIME HE HEARD THE ACCIDENT PILOT BROADCAST HIS POSTION BY STATING THAT THE "HANALIE RIDGE (ABOUT 3 MILES NORTH OF THE CRATER) DOES NOT LOOK SO GOOD." THE SECOND PILOT RESPONDED, "CHUCK WHEN I CAME ACROSS IT WAS LIGHT RAIN AND THE CEILING WAS GOOD." ABOUT 3 MINUTES LATER, THE SECOND PILOT HEARD THE ACCIDENT PILOT SAY, "BOY THE WEATHER IS LOOKING BAD RIGHT HERE." IN REPLY TO THIS REMARK, THE SECOND PILOT STATED "CHUCK TAKE A HEADING OF ONE HUNDRED TWENTY )A SOUTHEASTERLY COURSE OF 120 DEGREES) TAKE YOUR TIME." REVIEW OF AN AERONAUTICAL CHART REVEALED THIS HEADING WOULD HAVE TAKE THE HELICOPTER AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAINS. THE SECOND PILOT SUBSEQUENTLY GAVE THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR A WRITTEN STATEMENT. IN THIS STATEMENT THE PILOT PROVIDED A DRAWING SHOWING HIS TOUR ROUTE, AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT HIS RECOLLECTIONS DURING THE FLIGHT. (-23) ON JUNE 25, 1998, AT 08:43 HAWAII STANDARD TIME N594BK DEPARTED LIHUE AIRPORT ON A TOUR WITH 5 PASSENGERS ON BOARD. AT 09:31 HAWAII STANDARD TIME N594BK CRASHED AT 2400MSL ON THE SOUTH RIDGE OF WAIALEALE CRATER ON THE ISLAND OF KAUAI, HAWAII. NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS WERE FOUND. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED UNDER POWERED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN. THERE WAS NO FIRE ON IMPACT. FUEL TANK WAS STILL INTACT AND MORE THAN ONE THIRD FULL. NO CONTAMINANTS WERE FOUND. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX98FA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA211), Jun 25, 1998: Eurocopter AS-350-BA (N594BK), Mt. Waialeale, HI, destroyed, 6 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to continue VFR flight into deteriorating weather conditions consisting of lowering ceilings and visibility in mountainous terrain, which resulted in the inadvertent entry into… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.