- Date
- May 18, 1997, 11:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Hilo, HI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N98AWBell 206B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970518314359A
- Case key
- 29792
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
the noninstrument-rated pilot flew into instrument conditions and failed to maintain adequate terrain clearance, while attempting to descend through an overcast. The adverse weather conditions and mountainous terrain were related factors.
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 noninstrument-rated pilot filed a company visual flight plan for a ferry flight from Kona to Hilo, Hawaii, but obtained no preflight weather briefing. Meteorological conditions along the intended route of flight were variable from visual to instrument conditions. There was a 7,000 foot overcast overlaying the destination and the eastern portion of the route. A first officer for Hawaiian Airlines stated that he and the captain observed a helicopter 15 to 20 miles west of Hilo on top of an overcast and that the pilot appeared to be searching for a visual path through the clouds. The first officer stated that at that time, there were no holes in the clouds that he could see and that Hilo was under a solid overcast. The aircraft collided with mountainous terrain at 6,500 feet.
Factual narrative
On May 18, 1997, about 1145 hours Hawaiian standard time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N98AW, collided with mountainous terrain 21 miles north-northwest of Hilo, Hawaii. The aircraft was found at 0815 hours on May 20 after being reported overdue on a company ferry flight from Kona to Hilo. The accident site is at the 6,500 foot level on the eastern slope of the Mauna Kea volcano. The aircraft was destroyed and the solo commercial pilot received fatal injuries. The pilot had filed a company visual flight plan, but obtained no preflight weather briefing and was not rated for instrument flight. Meteorological conditions along the intended route of flight were variable from visual to instrument conditions with a 7,000-foot overcast overlaying the destination and eastern portion of the route.
A first officer for Hawaiian Airlines stated to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that he and the captain of flight 381 observed a helicopter 15 to 20 miles west of Hilo on top of the overcast at 7,500 feet at approximately 1135 on May 18, and that the aircraft appeared to be searching for a visual path through the clouds. The first officer further stated that there were no holes in the clouds that he could see, and that Hilo was under a solid overcast at that time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N98AW
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3214
- Airframe hours
- 14,115
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20J, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Tetsuro E. Sugiyama, doing business as Kenai Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Kenai Air Hawaii, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 17, 1997 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- KOA · Kona, HI
- Destination
- ITO · HI
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 653 total · 50 in this make and model · 530 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 5 knots
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ITO, 18 nm away
Docket · 11
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 18, 1998, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 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.