Three Fatalities, Four Injured In Apparent Landing Accident

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 03.08.07 2305 EST: Three people were killed and four critically injured Thursday in a tour helicopter crash on Kauai, the Princeville mayor's office said.

The crash occurred at Princeville Airport about 3:00 pm local time, according to Kauai Fire Chief Robert Westerman. A Heli-USA Airways helicopter pilot had radioed he was having a hydraulics problem. One woman and three men injured in the crash were taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue.

Less than a month ago, the National Transportation Safety Board called for tougher standards for tour operators across the country based on two earlier crashes on Kauai -- including one involving a Heli-USA helicopter.

Company officials told ANN the helo involved was a Eurocopter AS350-B2 "A-Star," type shown above. The company also conducts sightseeing tours in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

This is the second fatal accident involving a Heli-USA helicopter in two years. Three passengers drowned in 2005 after a Heli-USA helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Kauai.

As ANN reported, the NTSB determined the probable cause of a 2005 fatal air tour helicopter crash in Hawaii as "the pilot's decision to continue flight into adverse weather conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to an encounter with a microburst."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.heliusahawaii.com