Newswatch
By Star-Bulletin Staff
Saturday, February 22, 1997
Pilot Don Machado, 35, and co-pilot Jeff Otani, 36, were taken to Straub Hospital for treatment of first- and second-degree surface burns, said Michelle Jerrin, hospital spokeswoman. Machado burned his thigh and arm. Otani suffered scrapes. Both were treated and released.
Polynesian Air’s Beech BE-18 had barely lifted off runway 8-L at 6:23 a.m. on Flight 222 when, according to the pilot, the left engine fell off and the plane burst into flames, said Marilyn Kali, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
The plane came to a stop on the runway at the intersection of 8-L and 4-L, said Tom Rea, regional coordinator for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Crash and rescue teams responded immediately. The plane remained on the runway while airport and FAA officials conducted their investigation.
The aircraft was headed to Molokai with mail on board, Kali said. Polynesian Air has a contract with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail to Molokai. Some of the mail was destroyed in the fire.
Honolulu Airport was closed briefly until the fire was put out. Runway 8-L remained closed at mid-morning, but the closure was not affecting other flights, Rea said.
Witnesses said the man was shot after going to the aid of three women in a car parked in front of an apartment building at 324 Ohai Place at about 1:15 a.m.
The women called out to the man, who was visiting friends in the building, after two men and a woman approached the car and one of the men started harassing the three women, police said.
The victim intervened and was shot once in the left shoulder, police said.
Witnesses heard at least two shots. The victim ran around the corner and collapsed behind an apartment building at 320 Ohai Place.
He was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:59 a.m., police said.
"My friend - he no deserve that," said a man who ran out of his apartment after hearing the gunshots. "My friend's kids got to grow up with no father."
The victim, who lived on Lakeview Circle, was married and had three young sons, his friend said.
The suspect and his two companions fled on foot toward Kamehameha Highway.
Police are looking for a man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. The suspect had a ponytail with his hair shaved on the side.
Injured were Zacarias Baricuatro, 51, of Hilo, the pilot, listed in fair condition in Queen's Hospital; Jeremy Gooding, 26, of Hilo, and Julie Leialoha, 35, of Puna, both in stable condition in Kona Hospital; and Gene Burke, 54, of Hilo, in fair condition in Queen's Hospital.
The Hughes 500-D helicopter was being flown over the Manuka Natural Area Reserve on a state Department of Land and Natural Resources mission to do ground eradication of non-native fountain grass, department chairman Mike Wilson said.
The grass is encroaching on the reserve's pristine mid-elevation forest, he said.
Wilson said the helicopter experienced difficulty at 300 feet and went into an "automatic rotation-type landing." Wilson said he didn't know the cause of the crash, which occurred in clear weather.
An official for Manuiwa Airways who wouldn't give his name said, "They said they were cruising and everything was normal. The passengers reported they heard a bang and all of a sudden the plane started to go down," the official said.
The chopper crashed about a mile makai of the Hawaii Belt Road, police said.
The helicopter had landed forestry workers earlier in the 25,000-acre reserve, the state's largest, Wilson said. It returned to take the three to another site.
Police and fire officials said the accident took place sometime before 9:09 a.m., when they received the emergency call.