4 furlough protesters fail to appear at arraignment

Honolulu District Judge Colette Garibaldi postponed arraignment of a group of Furlough Friday protesters after four of seven members charged with trespass in protests at the governor's office didn't appear in court yesterday.

The arraignment was rescheduled to 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Garibaldi asked that the charged members of Save Our Schools Hawaii submit written statements that Eric Seitz's law firm is representing them.

Attorney Larry Kawasaki of the Seitz law firm said he represented seven protesters who were to be arraigned yesterday for simple trespass during a sit-in at Gov. Linda Lingle's office last month.

Save Our Schools members Clare Hanusz, Olga Boric-Lubecke and Carrie Lau were present, but Evan Anderson, Michael Doyle, Lois Yamauchi and Terri Zucchero didn't attend for various reasons that include work or an off-island trip.

Members who did not appear yesterday also will have to waive their presence if they cannot appear at Monday's arraignment, Garibaldi said.

All will plead not guilty, said Hanusz.

Big Isle aircraft still lost in bay

Federal investigators have not yet recovered a light sport aircraft that dropped into Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island last month, killing the pilot and passenger onboard.

The Airborne Windsport Edge XT-912-L weight-shift-control aircraft was substantially damaged when it hit the water of the bay at 9:36 a.m. April 21, a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report said. The aircraft sank and has not been recovered, according to the report, published Tuesday.

According to the investigation, the plane was flying near the edge of a cliff about 350 feet above the water. One witness saw the craft turning when it “;flipped over”; and the wings folded around the fuselage, collapsing “;like a butterfly landing on a flower.”;

The craft hit the surface of the water about 100 yards from shore and sank immediately.

Pilot Tedd Hecklin, of Tedd's Flying Adventures, and his passenger, Kathryn Moran, who was celebrating her birthday, died in the crash.