Cable likely caused
Kahoolawe copter crashA preliminary NTSB report
cites longline cable as the culprit
in the May 22 accident
KAHULUI >> A helicopter that crashed while performing cleanup work on Kahoolawe had made contact with a 41-foot longline cable just moments before it went down, according to federal investigators.
A witness on the ground at Kahoolawe saw an "un-weighted cable swinging free under the aircraft" slap the undercarriage of the helicopter before it struck the tail rotor, said the preliminary report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"He then observed the tail rotor coming apart," according to the report.
The report confirms early findings made by Federal Aviation Administration officials soon after the May 22 crash.
The Bell Model UH-1H helicopter was owned and operated by Pacific Helicopter Tours Inc., of Maui, and was conducting operations related to the Navy's cleanup of ordnance on Kahoolawe.
Civilian pilot Gary Freeman, 55, was killed when the helicopter crashed at the 2,000-foot level on the west side of the island, rolled over and burned.
Navy officials said cables are often used by helicopters to pick up and move cargo and equipment.
Kahoolawe was used by the Navy as a target and training area from 1941 until 1990, when former President George Bush ordered a halt to the exercises after years of protests and lawsuits by native Hawaiian groups.
Congress agreed in 1993 to spend up to $400 million through this November to clear the ordnance and required Kahoolawe's return to local control.