By Tom Bartlett, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Pilot Richard "Duke" Baldwin landed this helicopter on
Lanai yesterday morning after the aircraft's engine failed.
Baldwin, three Maui police officers and a police dog escaped
from the craft before it burst into flames and exploded.

Pilot: Lights,
‘loud bang,’ flames

He's praised for saving four
and a dog after the engine
explodes midair

By Gary Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Nearly 700 feet above Lanai, an engine warning light on the helicopter control panel went on, then another.

Pilot Richard "Duke" Baldwin knew he had trouble.

Baldwin was bringing the Hughes 520N down, and about halfway, "I heard a loud bang and saw flames or sparks coming out of the engine."

Barely making out a flat area in the darkness, Baldwin headed for it.

"It happened so fast I didn't have time to think about it. Thank God we walked away," he said.

The pilot landed the helicopter on a ridge in Mahana in north Lanai yesterday after the engine exploded in midair.

Deputy Police Chief Thomas Phillips said the three Maui vice officers on board praised Baldwin's skill in landing the helicopter.

All were in good condition, including officer Mollie Cameron, who suffered a minor concussion and cut on her head.

A police dog onboard also lived through the crash.

"The dog's fine. The dog actually landed on the officer (Cameron)," Phillips said.

Baldwin said there were gulches about 200 to 300 feet deep on either side of the ridge.

"If we went into a gulch, we would have been seriously injured or possibly killed," he said.

Baldwin said he used a fire extinguisher to break the glass in a jammed right door that trapped Cameron and the dog.

He said officers Clarence Kenui and Michael Victorine helped Cameron out of the aircraft through the window.

Baldwin said he and the passengers were a safe distance away from the helicopter when it became engulfed in flames and exploded.

An examination of the wreckage yesterday found the helicopter had a "catastrophic engine failure."

That is consistent with reports of a midair engine explosion, said Thomas Rea, the Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific representative.

Rea said a federal investigator today will be examining the maintenance records of the helicopter, owned by Windward Aviation Inc.

Rea said the helicopter had undergone major maintenance recently.

Baldwin said the engine in the helicopter was a loaner and had been installed in the aircraft last week.

Phillips said the helicopter left Maui on a special assignment at 4:30 a.m. and the crash occurred close to 4:50 a.m.

Beverly Shearer, manager of Windward Aviation, said Baldwin, 33, the company's chief pilot, has been flying helicopters for 15 years and used "incredible skill" in landing the aircraft.

"He's our hero," she said.