Pilot lost visibility
before crash that killed 6

"I can't see" were the last words
he radioed before slamming
into a mountain on Kauai

By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

LIHUE >> The pilot of an Ohana Helicopters tour helicopter repeatedly expressed concerns about worsening weather, and his last transmission was "I can't see" before he slammed into Mount Waialeale on June 25, 1998, killing himself and five passengers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The final NTSB report, issued this week, said Ohana pilot Chuck Lowe was piloting the third of three tour helicopters flying a few minutes apart in a column on a 50-minute tour of Kauai from Lihue Airport.

The tour route goes clockwise around Kauai and then cuts across the island from Hanalei over a crater on Mount Waialeale known as Blue Hole.

The pilot of the second helicopter said Lowe radioed, "Hanalei Ridge (about three miles north of the crater) does not look so good," and he responded, "Chuck, when I came across it, it was light rain and the ceiling was good."

About three minutes later, Lowe radioed: "Boy, the weather is looking bad right here," and the pilot of the second helicopter replied: "Chuck, take a heading of 120 (120 degrees, a southeasterly course that would have taken Lowe away from the mountain). Take your time."

Shortly afterward, the pilot of the first helicopter, which was making its landing approach at Lihue Airport, heard Lowe radio, "I can't see." Lowe was not heard from again.

The NTSB investigation determined the helicopter was flying a course of 350 degrees, almost due north, when it hit the mountain instead of the southeasterly course Lowe had been recommended to fly.

Lowe was a retired Navy helicopter pilot who previously had been stationed at the Pacific Missile Range on Kauai. He had been flying tours for about three months.

Also killed in the crash were John and Maxine Spin of Twinsburg, Ohio, and Andrew Yang, 10, his cousin Rebecca Muse, 9, and her mother Pauline, 50, all of Lake Oswego, Ore.

Yang's parents were in one of the helicopters that landed safely.