Incident report
Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 crash near Kekaha, HI, United States
fatal2019-12-277 fatalities
Summary
A Safari Aviation Airbus AS350B2 (N985SA) on a commercial sightseeing tour of Kauai crashed into a ridge at 2,900ft in a remote wooded area near Kekaha. The 69-year-old chief pilot and all six passengers were killed. The NTSB found the pilot flew into deteriorating visibility from low clouds and fog moving onshore and was unable to exit the area. The NTSB cited the FAA delayed implementation of weather cameras in Hawaii, lack of specialised weather training for tour pilots, and ineffective oversight of air tour operators as contributing factors.
Incident details
Date
2019-12-27
Location
Kekaha, HI, United States
Aircraft
Registration
N985SA
Operator
Operator type
commercial
Fatalities
7
Injuries
0
Occupants
7
Probable cause
Weather
IMC
Source
NTSB ↗21.9708, -159.7150
Quick stats
Severityfatal
Fatalities7
Injuries0
SourceNTSB
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