2004 Kaua'i copter crash linked to Pilot error

New rules adopted this month to improve helicopter safety were generated by examining the cause of a 2004 crash on Kaua'i that officials determined was linked to pilot error.
A Bali Hai tour helicopter smashed into a steep mountainside on Sept. 24, 2004, killing the pilot and all four passengers.
A National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash said pilot Shankar Tummala, an India native recently from Michigan, who had been flying on Kaua'i only two months, was inexperienced in dealing with the island's changeable weather, and that an understaffed Federal Aviation Administration failed to notice some of his questionable route decisions and warn him.
The fatal crash was on Tummala's eighth flight of the day. He had been in the helicopter nearly eight hours at the time of the crash, had eaten a sandwich while in the pilot's seat and had been seen taking just one break to walk and stretch.
The report said Bali Hai had a policy that encouraged pilots to fly in questionable weather, encouraged them to stay on schedule and encouraged them to fly long hours.
Bali Hai Helicopter Tours went out of business after the crash.
"The operator's pilot-scheduling practices ... likely had an adverse impact on pilot decision-making and performance," the NTSB said in its accident probable cause statement.
Tummala's final flight, scheduled for 45 minutes, left at about 4 p.m. and was to cruise clockwise around the island over Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast, Wai'ale'ale Crater and Manawaipuna Falls, the NTSB report said.
On the day of the accident, Tummala was the only pilot on duty at Bali Hai, and the customer service representative stated that the pilot appeared "fine" when he arrived at the office, the report said.
A passenger on the fourth tour stated that the pilot was "very nice" and "professional" and appeared relaxed as he narrated the tour.
Passengers on the seventh tour, however, stated that the pilot looked "extremely tired" before their flight and that he got out of the helicopter to stretch and walk around.
The NTSB report said the most basic cause of the crash was the 39-year-old pilot's error in flying into deteriorating weather and losing control of the Bell 206B aircraft. Radar indicated his flight grew increasingly erratic in the final 47 seconds of flight, as he flew blind in clouds in a manner the agency said was "consistent with pilot spatial disorientation."
24/05/07 Jan TenBruggencate/Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii

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Categories: Foreign May 2007, Safety May 2007