the Airbus AS350 B2 operated by Safari Aviation collided with a steep, wooded slope, killing the pilot and all six passengers. [Courtesy: NTSB]
Key Takeaways:
The NTSB primarily blamed the 2019 fatal Hawaii air tour helicopter crash on the pilot's decision to fly into dangerous weather and the FAA's delay in installing crucial weather cameras in the region.
Other contributing factors included the operator's lack of a safety management system and insufficient pilot training to recognize in-flight weather hazards, with the NTSB criticizing the FAA's minimal oversight of Hawaii air tour operations despite past recommendations.
As a result, the NTSB recommends requiring flight data recorders on tour helicopters, mandatory safety management systems for operators, and conducting all paid-passenger flights under Part 135 regulations.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the FAA is partially to blame for the 2019 fatal accident involving an air tour helicopter in Hawaii.
The NTSB suggests if the FAA had not delayed the installation of weather cameras in the region, the pilot might have been alerted to dangerous conditions and not continued the flight into deteriorating weather.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
