Former Hawaiian Health Director Fatally Injured When Makani Kai Air Charters Flight Went Down

The brother of the former health director of the state of Hawaii named Pratt & Whitney Canada and Makani Kai Air Charters in a lawsuit filed in conjunction with her death.

Lewis Fuddy Jr. says the engine maker and the charter company are responsible for causing his sister, Loretta Fuddy, to develop an irregular heartbeat when the plane she was aboard lost power and went down off the island of Molokai December 11 last year. The other eight people on the plane, including the pilot, survived with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the suit claims Pratt & Whitney knew that the turbine blades in the engines installed on the airplane had a tendency to elongate during operation, which caused the power decrease. "This created an unreasonable risk that the turbine blades would come into contact with the engine shroud and cause the engine to seize," the lawsuit says.

Fuddy's attorney said the pilot was not named in the suit because "there's no basis that he did anything wrong."

According to the NTSB's preliminary report, the airplane, a Cessna 208B, sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power and ditching into the Pacific Ocean near Kalaupapa, Hawaii. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were seriously injured, one passenger was fatally injured, and five passengers received minor injuries. Makani Kai Air was operating the flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, which had originated about 2 minutes before the accident. A company flight plan had been filed. The flight departed from the Kalaupapa airport on the island of Molokai, and was en route to Honolulu International airport, on the island of Oahu.

The pilot stated that shortly after takeoff, a loud bang was heard and there was a total loss of power. After a short glide, he performed an open ocean ditching. The airplane floated for approximately 25 minutes and then sank. All the passengers put on their life preservers and exited the airplane. US Coast Guard and Maui Fire and Rescue personnel recovered the passengers approximately 80 minutes later.

Pratt & Whitney would not comment on the pending litigation. Makani Kai owner Richard Shuman said he did not know the suit had been filed.

(Cessna 208B pictured in file photo. Not accident airplane)

FMI: NTSB Prelim