The owner and pilot of Birds of Paradise had problems with the fuel system of a weight-shift control aircraft that crashed on Kauai, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency posted on its website the report involving the March 11 crash in Polihale that killed pilot Gerry Charlebois, 55, of Kapahi and Mark McKenzie, 53, of Ontario. The report said Charlebois recently had problems with the aircraft’s fuel system sucking the fuel supply out of the main vent line in the belly of the aircraft.
To rectify the problem, he "routed the vent line up the mast and through the keel pocket toward the trailing edge."
A final report is expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months.
According to the preliminary report, Charlebois was operating a special light Revo Evolution Trikes weight-shift control aircraft that crashed into terrain near Polihale State Park and burned up upon or after impact.
Another Birds of Paradise pilot told investigators that he met up with Charlebois at the company’s facilities at 6:15 a.m. to prepare for the day’s flight sessions. He noticed Charlebois on a ladder routing compressed air into the doomed trike’s fuel vent.
The report said the pilot commented to Charlebois that "the fuel cap was still affixed on the tank and removed it for him, which produced a ‘pop’ sound from the compressed air escaping the system."
The two trikes left Port Allen Airport at about 8:50 a.m.
Charlebois was to take McKenzie on a 60-minute introductory flight session.
The second pilot last saw Charlebois’ aircraft about 1,000 feet above ground and 75 feet away. After performing turns over the ocean, the pilot attempted to contact Charlebois via radio.
At some point the pilot and student pilot noticed smoke on the base of the ridgeline and maneuvered the trike toward the crash site about a mile east of Polihale State Park. The report said the crash occurred at about 9:10 a.m.
Investigators recovered the wreckage and a camera for further examination.
The crash was the first involving an ultralight on Kauai since 2011. In February of that year, Big Sky Kauai owner Kim Gaither and passenger Kim Buergel of Spokane, Wash., died in a crash in the ocean off the island’s South Shore.
Three months later pilot Steve Sprague and passenger Ray Foreman of Vista, Calif., died after a Kauai Aerosports aircraft crashed into the ocean off Kauai’s North Shore.
