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Hawaiian Air
rough landing on Kauai
under investigation

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By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

LIHUE -- The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a June 14 accident at Lihue Airport in which a Hawaiian Airlines DC-9 with 139 people aboard landed hard enough to scrape the aircraft's tail and "substantially damage" a pressure bulkhead in the rear of the aircraft.

The damage was not discovered until some time later and the plane made at least one and possibly several more flights before it was grounded for repairs, according to the NTSB.

Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said today that the issue is under investigation by the NTSB and he cannot comment on it.

The NTSB said in its preliminary report that none of the five crew or 134 passengers were injured but Hawaiian Airlines said two passengers have contacted the airline complaining of back pain and the airline is paying for physical therapy for one of them.

Wagner said he did not know the status of the co-pilot, who was flying the DC-9 during the landing. The aircraft has been repaired and is back in regular service, he said.

According to the NTSB preliminary report, the accident occurred as the fully loaded Hawaiian Flight 193 from Honolulu to Lihue was making a routine visual approach at 4:49 p.m. with the wind 10 miles per hour from the east-northeast when it made "a hard landing."

"A portion of the airplane's aft pressure bulkhead was found bent during a subsequent examination and the airplane was substantially damaged," the preliminary report said. Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot reported any malfunctions in the aircraft during the landing.

NTSB investigator Wayne Pollack, who is based in Los Angeles, said it will be several months before a final report is issued.