N81GG

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 15, 2016, about 1841 Hawaii standard time, a turbine-powered Hughes (MDHI) 369D helicopter, N81GG, impacted mountainous tree-covered terrain about 1 mile north of Pukoo, Hawaii. The airline transport pilot and the passenger were fatally injured, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The helicopter was registered to the pilot who was operating it under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was filed for the visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site at the time of the accident. The flight departed from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii, at 1756 and was destined for a private residence near Pukoo, located on the island of Molokai.

According to the pilot's mechanic, who helped load and fuel the helicopter, the purpose of the flight was to transport the pilot's friend from HNL to Molokai. The pilot lived and worked in Honolulu and had another residence on the east side of Molokai that included a private helipad. The residence was located on the southeast side of Kamakou Mountain. The flight distance was about 65 nautical miles (nm), and the expected flight time was 30 minutes.

The mechanic reported that he advised the pilot not to fly given the weather conditions, but that the pilot insisted on flying because he had to tend to business. About 1730, the mechanic sent a text message to the property caretaker of the pilot's home on Molokai to check the weather. According to statements provided to the Maui County Police Department, the caretaker replied, "mountain is a little wet and the clouds are low out East near the house," but the pilot had already departed.

Archived FAA voice communications from Molokai air traffic control tower, (MKK), Kualapuu, Hawaii, indicated that the pilot reported "2 miles southwest of the mudflats 1 mile off shore at 700 feet transition to the east," at 1823. The control tower approved the transition through class D airspace and provided an altimeter setting of 3003. The pilot repeated the altimeter setting. This last reported position was about 20 miles from the destination.

The mechanic reported that he called the pilot after the helicopter's expected arrival time on November 15 but was unable to reach him. Early on November 16, the mechanic asked the caretaker to check for the pilot at his residence, but the caretaker did not find the pilot or his helicopter. The US Coast Guard and Maui County Police Department were notified, and a coordinated land and sea search was conducted. At 0852, the FAA issued an alert notice for the helicopter. According to Maui County Police Department records, the crew of a Maui fire and rescue helicopter discovered the wreckage about 1331 in Pukoo, about 0.75 mile north of the pilot's helipad.

The Maui County Police Department interviewed six ground witnesses who observed the helicopter flying overhead in the Pukoo vicinity on the night of the accident. The witnesses stated that the weather conditions were dark with rain and wind and that the helicopter had its searchlight on. One of the witnesses (witness # 1 in figure 1), who lived 1.2 miles southwest of the helipad, stated that he saw the helicopter fly from the coastline to the mountain ridge and perform an approach toward the pilot's helipad, but this witness then lost sight of the helicopter when it entered a cloud.

Figure 1. Location of accident site, helipad and witnesses.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) interviewed four ground witnesses. One of the witnesses, (witness #2 in figure 1) who lived with another witness about 1 mile southwest of the helipad and 2 miles from the accident site, observed the helicopter flying "surprisingly low" and slow over their property with its searchlight on. The witness recognized the accident pilot's helicopter because she was accustomed to seeing that helicopter fly over her property. She stated that the pilot had flown in "horrific conditions" before and reported that, when she observed the helicopter, it was "very dark" and "very windy" with clouds and rain higher up on the mountain. The witness photographed the helicopter with her iPhone. The time stamp on the iPhone photograph was 1836, and it revealed that the helicopter was flying in dark night conditions.

A witness who lived 0.2 mile east of the pilot's property (witness #3 in figure 1) stated that the weather on the night of the accident was "very windy and rainy" and "as bad as I've ever seen." The witness observed the helicopter perform a controlled approach to the ridgeline above her house, and not the ridgeline to the west where the pilot's helipad was located, and then the helicopter descended behind terrain and disappeared from view. She stated that the rain appeared to fall at a 45 to 90° angle to the ground in the illumination of the helicopter's searchlight. She observed a bright orange illumination in the clouds sometime after that. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 70, held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating issued on December 29, 2009. Additionally, he held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane ratings and a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land and sea rating. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on May 17, 2016, with the limitation to have available glasses for near vision. According to a family member, the pilot was in excellent health. On his most recent medical certificate application, the pilot reported 4,210.7 hours of total flight experience, 45.2 hours of which were within the last 6 months.

The pilot's logbook was not located, so his instrument and night flight experience and the number of hours in the accident helicopter make and model could not be determined.

According to the pilot's workplace personal assistant, the pilot flew to Molokai about every other week, often after work at night. A family member recalled that, during one flight, the pilot diverted to MKK due to deteriorating weather conditions near Pukoo. The family member also stated that the pilot used GPS to navigate at night. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe helicopter, serial number 100634D, was manufactured in 1979 as a Hughes 369D helicopter. The type certificate at the time of the accident was held by MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) The helicopter was powered by a Rolls-Royce (Allison) 250-C20B turboshaft engine. The helicopter was controlled by a single pilot from the left seat.

The helicopter's maintenance records revealed that its last annual inspection occurred on September 17, 2016. According to a maintenance tracking report dated November 17, 2016, the airframe total time was 9,640.1 hours, and the engine total time was 8,371.1 hours. An emergency locator transmitter was not installed or required to be installed. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe National Weather Service (NWS) area forecast for Hawaii, issued at 1734 and valid at the time of the accident, indicated the following conditions for Oahu and Molokai: scattered clouds at 2,500 ft, scattered to broken ceiling at 5,000 ft; temporary conditions of broken ceilings at 2,500 ft and visibility between 3 and 5 miles with rain showers; and isolated conditions of broken ceilings at 1,500 feet with visibility below 3 miles in rain showers. The NWS area forecast discussion (AFD) at 1604 (the closest AFD to the accident time) indicated that an area of showery low clouds was moving toward the islands in the trade wind flow (west) and was expected to continue to promote the development of marginal VFR conditions (visibilities and ceilings) over windward (east) portions of the Big Island…and appear poised to move ashore over windward portions of the smaller islands (Molokai) overnight. AIRMET Sierra was issued at 1731, before the flight departed, and was valid at the accident time and for the area near the accident site. AIRMET Sierra advised of mountain obscuration on the north- through east-facing slopes of Molokai due to clouds and rain.

The closest official weather station to the accident site was an automated surface observing system (ASOS) at MKK, which was about 17 miles west of the accident site. The ASOS recorded the following conditions at 1854 (13 minutes after the accident): wind from 030° at 15 knots with gusts to 21 knots, visibility 10 miles, a broken ceiling at 4,800 ft, a broken cloud layer at 5,500 ft, temperature 24°C, dew point 21°C, and altimeter 30.04 inches of mercury. The surface observations surrounding the accident time indicated VFR conditions on the leeward side of mountainous terrain with periods of rain and gusty wind from the east to the northeast.

A review of archived radar data from the Molokai NWS Weather Surveillance Radar-1988, Doppler (WSR-88D,) which was located 17 miles west of the accident site, showed that, between 1834 and 1845, a line of rain showers moved from east to west over the accident site, likely with reduced visibilities and ceilings.

Figure 2. WSR-88D Doppler Radar at 1840.

A search of official weather briefing sources, such as Lockheed Martin Flight Service and Direct User Access Terminal Service, indicated that the accident pilot did not request an official weather briefing. The pilot's mechanic stated that the pilot normally checked the Molokai radar images on the NWS website before his flights to Pukoo.

According the US Naval Observatory astronomical data, sunset at the accident site on the day of the accident was at 1746, and the end of civil twilight was at 1809. The moon was not visible during the accident flight; moonrise occurred at 1925.

For further weather information, see the weather study in the public docket for this accident. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe helicopter, serial number 100634D, was manufactured in 1979 as a Hughes 369D helicopt...