A pilot's loss of control was the cause of a light sport airplane crash on Kauai last year that seriously injured the pilot and a flight student, a federal report says.

The craft, an Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd. XT-912-L owned by Birds of Paradise LLC, was the same type of plane that fell into Kealakekua Bay Wednesday, killing the craft's pilot and passenger. A witness said the two-seat motorized hang glider appeared to flip over because of an updraft, then fold its wings and fall about 400 feet into the bay.

Last week the National Transportation Safety Board was trying to recover that wreckage, but that might not be possible because of ocean depth and current, an NTSB investigator said.

The Kauai crash occurred Aug. 1 about 12 miles northwest of Lihue. According to the NTSB report released Thursday, the pilot said he was trying to land in Wailiali Crater when the craft was suddenly rocked violently.

“;I fought all I could to maintain control of the (air)craft,”; he said in the report. Seeing the speed at which the ground was approaching, he decided pulling the parachute was “;the only thing that would save (us).”;

After he pulled the chute, he lost consciousness about 200 to 300 feet from the ground. The plane hit a hillside, and the parachute became entangled in trees, stopping the craft from sliding down a cliff.

In the report, the student pilot said the pilot was trying to drop through a hole in the clouds.

He said as soon as they entered the “;hole,”; the aircraft stopped flying and “;started bouncing around like popcorn in a popcorn popper.”; The craft then spiraled downward.

A federal investigator said “;severe updrafts and downdrafts caused the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.”;