Pilot reports plane failed to ascend before crash
A preliminary safety report is issued on a Molokai accident
WAILUKU » A pilot said his airplane would not climb after departing from a private grassy runway in West Molokai, crashing and seriously injuring a Japanese passenger and himself, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
"He made a right turn in compliance with the noise abatement procedures, and the airplane lost altitude. The airplane descended to the level terrain, coming to rest upright," according to the report issued yesterday.
The Hawaii Tora Flight Adventures airplane, carrying four passengers and the pilot, was returning to Oahu when it made an emergency landing near the private airstrip.
The NTSB report said the operator did not hold an air taxi and commuter operating certificate.
According to the report, the operator said it was not required to carry such a certificate, as the business uses the airplanes as a means of transportation from Honolulu to Panda Ranch and back. The passengers do not pay for the flight, but purchase the experience at the ranch.
John Weiser, operator of Hawaii Tora Flight Adventures, said he spoke with the pilot after the crash.
Weiser, interviewed after the NTSB report was issued yesterday, said tradewinds normally blow at the airstrip at his Panda Ranch, helping to lift the airplane.
But Weiser said on the night of April 30, the winds were variable and modulating at different velocities.
"A microburst of unfavorable wind kept him from developing enough lift from escaping the terrain, and he flew right into it," Weiser said.