Piper PA-31-350 accident near Volcano, HI
On September 26, 1999, a Piper PA-31-350 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Volcano, HI. 10 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 26, 1999
- Place
- Volcano, HI
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 10 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 19.491°N, 155.230°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X19727
Official records · DCA99MA088
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
NTSB summary
The full report (NTSB/AAB-01-02) is available on the NTSB Web site. See http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm for details. On September 25, 1999, about 1726 Hawaiian standard time, Big Island Air flight 58, a Piper PA-31-350 (Chieftain), N411WL, crashed on the northeast slope of the Mauna Loa volcano near Volcano, Hawaii. The pilot and all nine passengers on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. The sightseeing tour flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on-demand air taxi operation. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions existed at the Keahole-Kona International Airport (KOA), Kona, Hawaii, from which the airplane departed about 1622. The investigation determined that instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. A Big Island Air employee who observed the pilot upon his arrival at KOA shortly before 0700 on the day of the accident stated that the pilot appeared to be alert and well rested. The pilot was scheduled to make two air taxi flights that day. The morning sightseeing flight departed about 0700, and the second (accident) flight departed about 1622. The morning's weather report was included on the "Flight Plans and Weather" form that Big Island Air pilots typically reference before flying with an indicated time of about 0700. Big Island Air's Director of Operations reported to National Transportation Safety Board investigators that he had obtained this weather information from the Federal Aviation
Probable cause
the pilot's decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) in an area of cloud-covered mountainous terrain. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's failure to properly navigate and his disregard for standard operating procedures, including flying into IMC while on a visual flight rules flight plan and failure to obtain a current preflight weather briefing.
More accidents in HI
- Beech 65-A90, Jun 22, 2019
- Boeing 747-122, Feb 24, 1989
- Beech E18S, Apr 23, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Dec 24, 1987
- Airbus AS350B2, Dec 27, 2019
Browse: Hawaii · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
