WAILUKU -- A factual report into the November airplane crash that killed Maui County Councilman Tom Morrow and four other Democratic Party members is complete, but it's still unclear why the plane crashed, one investigator said. Crash report complete, but cause
yet to be determinedEvidence shows the plane took a dip and made a U-turn from its route before it slammed into a ridge above Halawa Valley on Molokai, said Richard Parker, an investigator of the National Transportation Safety Board.
But officials still don't know whether the pilot was disabled or disoriented by clouds or weather, Parker said.
"It's all speculation," he said.
Morrow and four others died in the crash while attempting to return to Maui from a Democratic Party rally on Molokai.
The federal report is still under review but has not been released to the public. Once the NTSB finishes its review, a final determination on the probable cause of the crash will be made.
When Bruce W. Bergland took over the University of Hawaii-West Oahu two years ago, the school's only dean had just retired, its accreditation was on warning and plans for a permanent campus were being questioned. Bergland made difference
at UH-West OahuSince then, however, Bergland kept accreditation worries at bay while he rallied support for the campus.
West Oahu's outgoing executive vice chancellor leaves the islands Saturday knowing his shepherding of Oahu's "other" public university has made a difference.
"Bruce came to UH at an especially critical time during which the state was moving forward with plans for a permanent home and significant expansion of the West Oahu campus," said UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer.
Mortimer attributed much of the success of those plans to contacts Bergland made in the community.
Bergland resigned to become vice president of academic affairs at Trinity College of Vermont on July 1.
HILO -- The Chain of Craters Road will be closed beyond the 4- Chain of Craters Road
to get safety treatmentmile marker from Monday through the end of the month for road improvements, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park announced.
The park will apply a "safety friction treatment," consisting of an asphalt emulsion and gravel chips, the park said.
The $200,000 job will provide better road traction during rain.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPolice arrested a man this morning for attempted murder after he allegedly shot at a Waipahu woman. Shots fired at woman;
police arrest suspectPolice said the man was picking up a child at an apartment at 94-249 Waikele Road at 4 a.m. when he allegedly began firing shots at the woman who lived at the apartment.
The relationship between the man and the woman was unknown this morning, police said.
After firing the shots, the man drove off with a woman passenger in a car. Police caught the man about 5 a.m., in town on Kinau Street.
Police are looking for a man who assaulted another man yesterday in Seaview. Officers seeking man
wanted in assault casePolice responded to reports about 6:25 p.m. that there was a naked man in the street bleeding. When police arrived at Lumipolu Street, they found a man seated in his parked car with severe facial injuries.
The victim, 42, told police that a man who lived in the area had beaten him and accused the victim of having an affair with his wife. Police said the suspect was not at home.
Other Police/Fire headlines
in today’s Star-Bulletin:
- Charges filed after woman set fire to family home
- Man turns in old grenade at Maui fire station
- 5,166 marijuana plants seized on Big Island
- Workers puncture propane gas line in Kihei
- Visitor hospitalized after nearly drowning
- Drinking checkpoints will be set up by police
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Info] section for subscription information.
