Fatal helicopter crash in Hawaii
Two Black Hawk helicopters were also involved in a non-fatal incident in a valley near a Utah ski resort on the same day
A Sikorsky S-61N helicopter operated by Oregon-based contracting company Croman Corporation crashed at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Hawaii’s Kauai island, killing all four people on board.
The aircraft crashed at approximately 10:00 hrs on Tuesday 22 February, and had reportedly been participating in a routine training operation at the base under contract to the US Navy.
The victims of the crash, all Croman employees, were identified as Chief Pilot Daniel Maurice, 64; Command Pilot Patrick Rader, 55; and mechanics Ericka Tevez-Valdez, 42, and Mathew Haider, 44.
The aircraft was witnessed plummeting to the ground after attempting to drop an object it had retrieved from the water. According to eyewitness Chris Turner, speaking to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the helicopter was at the north end of the runway lowering items when it suddenly made a sharp right turn and fell nose first into the ground.
“It just went down,” Turner added.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has already confirmed via a Twitter post that it is launching an investigation into the crash.
The incident follows other helicopter crashes in Utah and California in recent weeks
In a separate incident on 22 February, two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed near a Utah ski resort.
The aircraft were reportedly carrying out a training exercise when the incident happened, and crashed near Mineral Basin, a windy canyon adjacent to the Snowbird ski resort. Miraculously, all crew on board both aircraft survived the crash, and none of the dozens of skiers nearby were injured.
It is currently unknown what caused the incident, however eyewitnesses reported that a rotor blade may have become detached during the incident.
Jared Jones, a Utah National Guard spokesperson interviewed by ABC News following the incident, has said that efforts were already underway to investigate the incident and remove the damaged equipment from the mountainside.
Both incidents follow the crash of a police helicopter operated by Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) last weekend off the coast near Newport Beach, California, which killed one pilot and injured another.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.