Recommends New Procedures, Oversight For Part 91 Air Tour Operators

ANN has learned the NTSB determined the probable cause of a 2004 fatal air tour helicopter crash in Hawaii as "the pilot's decision to continue flight into an area of turbulent, reduced visibility weather conditions, which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control of the helicopter."

The accident occurred on September 24, 2004, when the Bell 206B helicopter (file photo of type below), operated by Bali Hai Helicopter Tours, Inc., conducting an air tour flight on the island of Kauai, encountered adverse weather conditions and crashed into mountainous terrain.

The pilot and all four passengers were killed in the crash.

"The air tour industry in Hawaii serves hundreds of thousands of paying passengers each year and the public deserves an appropriate level of safety when they embark on an air tour," said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "It is my fervent hope that the FAA will move quickly on our recommendations."

Experienced local pilots say terrain, mountain winds, and rapidly changing cloud conditions make flying choppers on Kauai challenging. A review of the eight weather-related chopper accidents in Hawaii since 1994 found four involved pilots who were relatively new to Hawaii. Three of those four -- including the accident pilot -- had been flying there less than two months.

The board cited the pilot's inexperience in assessing local weather conditions as a contributing factor, and recommended the FAA develop and require a cue-based training program for pilots that specifically addresses local weather phenomena and in-flight decision-making.

Investigators found Bali Hai's helicopter tours departed from Port Allen Airport, a general aviation airport with no facilities. The company frequently kept pilots in the cockpit with rotors turning -- to save wear on the engines -- between flights for seven to eight hours a day without lunch or bathroom breaks.

Although the FARs permit such practices, The board concluded they likely had an adverse impact on the pilot's decision-making and performance. As such, the board recommended the FAA mandate scheduling practices for air tour operators.

In addition to challenging scheduling practices, the board found significant discrepancies with Bali Hai's maintenance procedures and logbooks. Because it operated under 14 CFR Part 91, Bali Hai wasn't subject to required periodic FAA inspections. In fact, the board found Bali Hai had never been the subject of an FAA operations inspection prior to this accident.

The board concluded the public would benefit from additional regulation for air tour operators flying under Part 91. It cited the lack of FAA oversight as a contributing cause, and recommended the FAA develop and enforce safety standards for all commercial air tour operators to include, pilot training programs, special airspace restrictions, maintenance policies, and flight scheduling procedures -- none of which are required by the FAA's recently released 14 CFR Part 136 air tour rules.

Finally the NTSB noted Hawaii's mountainous landscape, limited air traffic control coverage, challenging weather, and high-density air traffic make it a prime candidate for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) program and recommended the FAA accelerate its implementation in Hawaii.

The board further recommended the FAA require Hawaii air tour operators to equip their aircraft with ADS-B technology within one year of the installation of a functional ADS-B system.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov