Aerospatiale AS 355F1 accident near Kahului, Maui, HI
On July 21, 2000, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Kahului, Maui, HI. 7 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 21, 2000
- Place
- Kahului, Maui, HI
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS 355F1 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 7 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 20.872°N, 156.582°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21525
NTSB summary
1.1 HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 21, 2000, about 1020 Hawaiian standard time, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1, N510TG, collided with mountainous terrain while descending in the Iao Valley, about 8.7 nautical miles (nm) miles west-southwest of the Kahului Airport, on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The helicopter was operated by Helicopter Consultants of Maui, Inc., d.b.a. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the planned 30-minute-long tour flight that was operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 135. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact ground fire. The commercial pilot and six passengers were fatally injured. The purpose of the flight was to provide the passengers with a sightseeing tour of the northwest portion of the island of Maui. The flight originated from a heliport on the Kahului Airport at 0955. According to management personnel at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (BHH), the established tour route involved circling mountains located in the western portion of the island. The operator's tour literature advertises that the tour would provide the fare-paying passengers with views of deep valleys, knife-edged ridges, mist-shrouded peaks, waterfalls cascading down towering cliffs, and a rainforest. About 0959, after the pilot's takeoff and departure from the airport vicinity, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) local air traffic controller advised the pilot that radar services were terminated. The pilot acknowledged the c
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate decision by which he continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Also causal was his failure to maintain terrain clearance resulting in a collision with mountainous terrain. A contributing factor was the low ceiling.
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Browse: Hawaii · Aerospatiale 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.
