In the wake of the Kauai helicopter crash, U.S. Rep. Ed Case on Friday voiced blistering criticism of the tour helicopter and small-aircraft industry, saying it is unsafe, completely incapable of self-regulation and locally has ignored sensible safety improvements.
Instead, the Hawaii industry has dramatically increased the volume of flights “at all times of day and night, in seemingly all weather, over more residential neighborhoods and to more risky and remote locations, at lower altitudes, while completely failing to address ground safety and community disruption concerns,” Case said in a statement.
>> PHOTOS: Wreckage found of Hawaii tour helicopter carrying 7
The congressman also took aim at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying the agency has not embraced the recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board in the wake of multiple crashes. The NTSB has placed safety improvements for such operations on its highest priority list, according to Case.
“I don’t understand why (the FAA is) not taking these concerns very, very seriously,” Case said in a phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Case’s comments were made just hours after authorities discovered the wreckage of the downed helicopter in a remote part of Kauai. Six passengers and a pilot were on board.
While expressing condolences to family and friends of the victims, Case said Hawaii must confront the reality of a third crash in just one year. One happened in the middle of a Kailua residential neighborhood.
“It’s nothing short of a miracle” that no one on the ground was injured or killed as a result of the three crashes, Case told the Star-Advertiser.
In his written statement the congressman pulled no punches. “Tour helicopter and small aircraft operations are not safe, and innocent lives are paying the price,” he said.
Melissa Pavlicek, executive director of the Hawaii Helicopter Association, said in a written statement that Hawaii helicopter tour operators “comply with safety standards established by federal law which include requirements for equipment maintenance, pilot training and altitude limits. Tours have operated safely on a daily basis adapting to geographic, weather and equipment conditions.”
She referred questions about the accident to the FAA and Coast Guard.
A mainland representative from the FAA could not be reached for comment.
Case in September introduced legislation that would bring greater restrictions to tour helicopters and small-aircraft operations and give local and state regulators more authority to impose additional restrictions tailored to their areas. The legislation is pending before a House committee.
Case and other congressional members concerned about community disruptions caused by the flights recently met with the FAA’s top administrator to urge the agency to make the problem a priority, but so far no action has resulted, Case said in a Tuesday letter updating his efforts to get stronger regulations in place.
“It may take broader legislation to mandate this priority for FAA,” Case wrote.
In the phone interview, Case noted that tour helicopter pilots — unlike commercial airline pilots, whose sole job is to fly the airplane — are narrating tours, answering questions from passengers and managing video while controlling the aircraft. “That’s unacceptable,” he said.
Given the thousands of flights that happen regularly over Hawaii residences, businesses, parks and other places, Case also decried the absence of radar and proximity-to-ground systems on tour helicopters.
Combining all these factors with the pressure to fly in marginal conditions, “that’s just an invitation to disaster,” Case said.
Case said he has tried working with the industry for a year but that it is in complete denial of the risks and safety concerns being raised. “It feels as if (the industry believes) the airspace is its private property.”
Richard Schuman, president of Schuman Aviation Co. Ltd., previously told the Star-Advertiser that Case’s legislation was too broad, didn’t differentiate between planes and helicopters, and set hard altitude limits that were problematic.
Case said he intends to continue pushing for the legislation.
“It just disturbs me to my core that seven more people apparently lost their lives while we essentially are arguing about whether the safety of the tour helicopter and small-aircraft operations is good enough,” he added. “Obviously, it’s not.”
