- Date
- July 14, 1994, 15:36 local (Jul 15, 1994, 01:36 UTC)
- Place
- Hanalei, HI
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N151BHAerospatiale AS350D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19940714046529A
- Case key
- 19180
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the engine-driven fuel pump, which resulted in the loss of power, and the lack of aircraft flotation equipment. Factors related to the accident were: flight over water adjacent to terrain that afforded no suitable forced landing site, and the lack of a passenger briefing by the operator on the location and operation of life preservers.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The helicopter was on a 14 CFR part 135 air tour operation with a pilot & 6 passengers aboard. It was flying parallel to the shoreline when a complete loss of engine power occurred. The pilot performed an autorotation to the water about 150' from a cliff shoreline. The helicopter was not equipped with floats. All occupants exited the helicopter uninjured as it was sinking. Life vests were aboard the helicopter, but were not worn by the occupants. Three of the passengers managed to climb onto rocks & were eventually rescued by helicopter. They indicated that they had not been briefed that life preservers were aboard the helicopter. The other four occupants were unable to climb onto rocks along the shore. One of these (a passenger) was rescued by personnel of a boat. The pilot & the other two passengers drowned. The helicopter was recovered from the ocean. An exam & tests of components revealed the internal drive splines of the engine-driven fuel pump (MFP-261) had worn to the point of slippage. This failure would have resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Factual narrative
See Group Chairman's Factual Report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N151BH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS350D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1298
- Airframe hours
- 7,221
- Engine
- Lycoming LTS-101-A3, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Papillon Hawaiian Helicopters, doing business as Papillon Hawaiian Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Papillon Helicopters, Ltd.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 13, 1994 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- LIH · Lihue, HI
- Destination
- LIH · HI
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 12,800 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 319 in the last 90 days · 119 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LIH, 21 nm away
Docket · 41
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 1, 1995, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.