AEROSPATIALE AS350BAHeli USA
Haena, HI, USA · 2005-09-24·N355NT
What happened
NTSB summary, verbatim[ The Safety Board's full brief is available at http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm. The Aviation Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/01. ] On September 23, 2005, about 1415 Hawaiian standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N355NT, registered to Jan Leasing, LLC, and operated by Heli-USA Airways, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, encountered adverse weather and crashed into the Pacific Ocean several hundred feet off the coast of Kailiu Point, near Haena, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The sightseeing air tour flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and visual flight rules with a company flight plan in effect. Localized instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. Three passengers were killed, and the commercial pilot and two other passengers received minor injuries. The flight departed from Lihue Airport, Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, at 1354 for the intended 45-minute tour.
Probable cause
the Board's determinationThe pilot's decision to continue flight into adverse weather conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to an encounter with a microburst. Contributing to the accident was inadequate Federal Aviation Administration surveillance of Special Federal Aviation Regulation 71 operating restrictions. Contributing to the loss of life in the accident was the lack of helicopter flotation equipment.
Safety recommendations
3 issuedwhat changed because of this accidentTO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require that all helicopters used in commercial air tour operations over water, regardless of the amount of time over water, be amphibious or equipped with fixed or inflatable floats.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Evaluate the design, maintenance, and in-service handling of personal flotation devices (PFDs) manufactured in compliance with Technical Standard Order C13f to determine the reason that some chambers fail to inflate when the inflation handles are pulled before the PFDs have reached the manufacturer’s recommended inspection interval.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: On the basis of the results of the evaluation requested by Safety Recommendation A-07-28, ensure that personal flotation devices manufactured in compliance with Technical Standard Order C13f remain usable throughout the manufacturer’s inspection interval.
NTSB analysis
from the final report[ The Safety Board's full brief is available at http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm. The Aviation Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/01. ] On September 23, 2005, about 1415 Hawaiian standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N355NT, registered to Jan Leasing, LLC, and operated by Heli-USA Airways, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, encountered adverse weather and crashed into the Pacific Ocean several hundred feet off the coast of Kailiu Point, near Haena, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The sightseeing air tour flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and visual flight rules with a company flight plan in effect. Localized instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. Three passengers were killed, and the commercial pilot and two other passengers received minor injuries. The flight departed from Lihue Airport, Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, at 1354 for the intended 45-minute tour.