National Transportation Safety Board

Aviation Accident Preliminary Report

Location:

Pukoo, HI

Accident Number:

WPR17FA021

Date & Time:

11/15/2016, 1841 HST

Registration:

N81GG

Aircraft:

HUGHES 369D/500D

Injuries:

2 Fatal

Flight Conducted Under:

Part 91: General Aviation - Personal

On November 15, 2016, about 1841 Hawaii standard time, a turbine-powered Hughes 369D
(500D) helicopter, N81GG, was destroyed after impacting mountainous tree-covered terrain
about 1-mile north of Pukoo, Hawaii. The certificated airline transport pilot and the sole
passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to the pilot and operated as a
visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations
Part 91. No flight plan was filed. At the time of the accident, dark night, visual meteorological
conditions prevailed with localized reports of low visibility with heavy rain showers. The flight
departed the Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, at 1756, destined for a private residence
near Pukoo, located on the Island of Molokai.
The pilot owned property on the east side of Molokai Island that included a helipad and
residence on the south-east side of Kamakou mountain at an altitude of about 750 and 250
feet, respectively. The helipad has four red solar powered perimeter lights, and three red
exterior hangar lights that faced south.
During an on-scene interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
investigator-in-charge (IIC) on November 18, the property caretaker reported that the accident
pilot routinely used the southerly facing red exterior hangar lights to find the heliport during
dark night conditions. The helipad was built high above the residence on a ridgeline that runs a
magnetic course of about 330 degrees up the mountain.
In a telephone interview with the NTSB IIC on November 18, a friend of the accident pilot, who
is also a helicopter maintenance technician, said that the pilot often departed in the evenings,
after work, from his hangar at the Honolulu International Airport for his property on Molokai.
On November 15, the friend/maintenance technician helped the pilot and passenger load and
fuel the helicopter just before departure.
A review of archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar data revealed that, at 1756,
the accident helicopter departed from the Honolulu International Airport, and it flew southeast at about 1,500 feet, across the Kaiwi Channel to the south side of Molokai Island. The last
position of the radar target was recorded about 8 miles southwest of the Molokai Airport as it
traveled east, and towards Pukoo.
Page 1 of 4

WPR17FA021

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.

The last radio contact with N81GG was at 1824 when the Molokai Air Traffic Control Tower
(ATCT) provided clearance for N81GG for transit through class D airspace to the south-east.
On November 16, after it was discovered that the helicopter did not arrive at the residence, the
caretaker of the pilot's Molokai residence reported it overdue. Search personnel from the U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG), along with the crew of a Maui Fire Department's Air One helicopter, were
dispatched to conduct an extensive aerial search effort.
At 0852 the FAA issued an alert notice (ALNOT) for the missing helicopter.
According to Maui County Police Department records, the crew of a Maui Fire and Rescue Air
One helicopter discovered the wreckage at about 1331 about one half mile north of the pilot's
helipad. Two rescue personnel were lowered to the site and confirmed that there were no
survivors. On November 17 the remains of the two occupants were recovered from the accident
site, and transported to Maui County Coroner.
On November 18 the NTSB IIC, along with another NTSB investigator, two FAA safety
inspectors from the Honolulu Flight Standards District Office, Aviation Safety Inspectors from
MD Helicopters, Boeing Helicopter and Rolls-Royce, reached the accident site in the afternoon.
The site was located on the east side of a ridgeline in thick ferns and kiawe forest on a side
slope of about 25 degrees at 1,389 feet. The aerial view indicated a confined wreckage pattern
of burned and fragmented components on a course of about 310 degrees for 80 feet and a
ground brush fire pattern that continued north-west for 50 feet upslope. The fuselage was
consumed by post impact fire and all other large components were located in that area. South
of the wreckage there were multiple broken tree limbs that revealed impact approach angle of
18 degrees from tree tops down to the helicopter skid fragments on the ground. Sections of the
landing skids and windscreen were located first at the south end, then the tail rotor system
with horizontal and vertical fins were upslope.
During an interview with the NTSB IIC on November 18, two witnesses who live at a
neighboring residence west of the accident site said that they saw N81GG on the evening of the
accident at 1837 flying low and slow over their property with a bright landing light illuminating
them. The witnesses each commented that it looked like the pilot was lost and searching the
ground for something before the helicopter turned to the east, and it departed for the
shoreline.
During a phone interview with the NTSB IIC on November 23, another witness who lives on
the ridge to the east of the pilot's property, said that she saw a helicopter with a bright "search
light" on the night of November 15 near her home. She said that she watched the helicopter
make a "controlled descent under dark, windy and very rainy conditions" down across the
ridgeline north of her house, (which is about one quarter mile east of the pilot's helipad,) then
disappear behind the ridge. The witness stated that the weather was almost the worst that she
had ever seen there, and she has been living at the residence part time for two years.
The National Weather Service radar data shows moderately heavy bands of rain passing from
the north-east through the accident area at the approximate time of the accident.

Page 2 of 4

WPR17FA021

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.

The closest weather reporting facility is Molokai Airport, located approximately 17 miles west
of the accident site. At 1754 HST, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) at PHMK,
reported wind 030 degrees at 14 knots, gusts to 23 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; scattered
clouds at 4,400 feet; temperature 75 degrees F; dew point 69 degrees F; altimeter 30.02 inHg.
Witnesses located in near Pukoo reported that weather conditions that were much worse than
that being reported at the Molokai Airport, which included gusty wind conditions, heavy rain,
and reduced visibility.
Sunset on the day of the accident was 1746; the end of civil twilight was 1810.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Manufacturer:

HUGHES

Registration:

N81GG

Model/Series:

369D/500D

Aircraft Category:

Helicopter

Amateur Built:

No

Operator:

GARY O. GALIHER

Air Carrier Operating

Certificate:

None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Observation Facility, Elevation:

PHMK

Observation Time:

1754 HST

Lowest Cloud Condition:

Scattered / 4400 ft agl

Conditions at Accident Site:

Visual Conditions

Lowest Ceiling:

None

Temperature/Dew Point:

24C / 21C

Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction:

14 knots/ 23 knots, 30

Visibility

10 Miles

Altimeter Setting:

30.02 inches Hg

Type of Flight Plan Filed:

None

Departure Point:

HONOLULU, HI (HNL)

Destination:

Pukoo, HI

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries:

1 Fatal

Aircraft Damage:

Destroyed

Passenger Injuries:

1 Fatal

Aircraft Fire:

None

Ground Injuries:

N/A

Aircraft Explosion:

None

Total Injuries:

2 Fatal

Page 3 of 4

WPR17FA021

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.

Administrative Information
Investigator In Charge (IIC):

Noreen O Price

Additional Participating Persons:

Kyle Bartlet; Honolulu FSDO; Honolulu, HI

Chris Howard; Honolulu FSDO; Honolulu, HI
John Hobby; Boeing; Phoenix, AZ
Joan Gregoire; MD Helicopters; Phoenix, AZ
Nicholas Sheplar; Rolls Royce; Indianapolis, IN

Note:

Page 4 of 4

The NTSB traveled to the scene of this accident.

WPR17FA021

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.