# Accident 20030909024719A: Snias AS350BA, Hilo, HI, September 9, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 9, 2003, 11:45 local time
- Place: Hilo, HI
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: SSHA
- Location: 19.7225° N, 155.0868° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Hilo, HI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=19.7225&lon=-155.0868&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5206J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5206J-2008-03-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 BA (registry code 8680955, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-ba) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350BA
- People aboard: 7
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,500 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03LA297](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA297) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030909024719A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) AFTER CRESTING THE NORTHERN RIFT ZONE OF MAUNA LOA VOLCANO ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII, THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED LOW CLOUD CONDITION ON THE SIDE OF THE EASTERN SLOPES OF MAUNA LAO. THE PILOT INITIALLY ATTEMPTED TO PARALLEL THE CLOUD LINE NORTHERLY TOWARD HILO, BUT THEN WAS REPORTED TO HAVE TURNED EASTERLY. HOWEVER, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE TURNED TOWARD THE WEST AND THEN NORTHWEST. HIS REPORT SHOWS THAT HIS DECISION WAS BASED ON THE IMPRESSION THAT HE MAY HAVE HAD AN OPENING TO GO THROUGH WEATHER THERE. AFTER THE HELICOPTER CONTINUED FOR A WHILE ON A WESTERLY DIRECTION, THE PILOT REALIZED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE RIGHT DECISION. AS THE WEATHER FORCED THE HELICOPTER LOWER TO THE GROUND, THE PILOT ELECTED TO REVERSE COURSE AND TOOK A NORTHWEST HEADING. AT THAT POINT, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE LOST LIFT AND AS HE COULD NOT STOP HIS AIRCRAFT FROM DESCENDING, OPTED TO LAND THE AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, THE PILOT REPORTED A RELATIVELY GENTLE DESCENT ONTO THE ROCKS. FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO THIS ACCIDENT INDICATES THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD CONTACTED ROCKS AND BOUNCED BEFORE LANDING, WHICH WAS STATED BY PASSENGERS. AS THE AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE DID NOT ALLOW FOR HIGE OR HOGE AT THIS ALTITUDE, WE EXPECT THAT THE PILOT MAY HAVE FOUND HIMSELF IN THIS SITUATION, AS HE SLOWED DOWN THE AIRCRAFT DUE TO WORSENING WEATHER CONDITIONS. SEVERAL PICTURES SHOWING IMPACT MARKS ON ROCKS CORROBORATE THE PASSENGER STATEMENTS THAT THE HELICOPTER HIT ROCKS PRIOR TO SETTLE ONTO THE ROCKS. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE INTERVIEW OF THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS INDICATES THAT THE LEAD PILOT HAD ABORTED HIS TOUR AND HAD PROCEEDED TOWARD HILO TO AVOID GOING INTO AREAS OF POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS; MR. LOMONACO, WHICH WAS REPORTED TWO MINUTES BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT, OPTED TO NOT FOLLOW HIM TOWARD HILO. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THE PILOT'S DECISION WAS IN ANY CASE INFLUENCED BY COMPANY INTERNAL POLICIES, AND AFTER CONDUCTING ITS OWN INVESTIGATION, THE COMPANY NOTIFIED US THAT THEY HAD TAKEN ACTION AGAINST THIS PILOT AND HAD RELIEVED HIM OF HIS DUTIES.

## 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 LAX03LA297](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA297), Sep 9, 2003: Eurocopter France AS 350 BA (N5206J), Hilo, HI, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain aircraft control. Contributing factors were fog, rough/uneven terrain, and spatial…

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.

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