A helicopter crashed on Wednesday that belonged to Sunshine Helicopters of Maui
Two people were injured after their helicopter made an emergency landing Wednesday afternoon in Hana, Maui. The injured persons, a pilot and an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration, suffered non-life threatening injuries, said Ian Gregor, FAA spokesman. They were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment.
The pilot and the inspector left Kahului Airport at 1:15 p.m. aboard a Sunshine Helicopters Aerospatiale AS350 helicopter for a routine proficiency check. The check is required for commercial pilots under FAA regulations, Gregor said.
But the helicopter experienced unknown mechanical problems and the pilot made an emergency landing on the shoreline in Wai’anapanapa at about 1:45, Gregor said. The helicopter’s tail boom broke during the landing, he said.
The FAA inspector suffered a broken ankle, but the extent of the pilot’s injuries was not immediately available.
FAA safety inspectors were on the scene of the incident and secured the wreckage, Gregor said. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
The Kahului-based Sunshine Helicopters offers air tours of Maui, Moloka’i, Kaua’i and the Big Island. Ross Scott, company president, did not return a phone call yesterday.
In April 2007, a Sunshine Helicopter Eurocopter EC 130 B4 crash-landed in Makawao after taking off for Kapalua. Five of six people on board received minor injuries.
The NTSB said pilot error was the probable cause of the accident.
In January 2006, a Sunshine Helicopters helicopter crash-landed on the slopes of Haleakala, injuring five people. The NTSB determined that the accident was caused by a “total loss of engine power due to a fatigue failure of a turbine blade.”
Finally a voice of reason
The majority of Americans favor legalization and know it makes no sense to arrest over 750,000 of our people per year for marijuana crimes.
Over $50,000,000,000.00 tax dollars have been spent this year alone so far on the war on drugs. More of that money was spent persecuting Americans for marijuana crimes than any of the hard drugs.
The $en$able and responsible thing to do is regulate and tax marijuana at a reasonable rate, free up many of those billions and the billions more used to prosecute, imprison, and monitor the Americans manufactured into criminals under the currant policy.
Collect billions of dollars more in taxes that could fund education and treatment for addictive personalities who can not or will not help themselves.
Take the money away from cartels, gangs, and the growers that are so often pointed to as why we can not stop the war. Take it away from all of them, off the street corners and out of the schools. Remove the money and most of that and much of the crime around it will disappear.
Reallocate our resources that have not made things better, they have made it worse. We have swat teams running around holding children at gun point and worse, telling us they have to do it. Give the police and prosecutors direction and resources to fight and solve crimes like the Halloween rape in Kona or the murders of Kaycee Smith and Dawn Gambsky. Using resources busting potheads while these crimes go unsolved is inexcusable. The worst part is it makes no difference marijuana is easy to get for anyone. What a total waste of manpower and resources the whole war on marijuana has proven to be. You could have thrown that money in the toilet for all the good it has done. In fact it has made it worse turning people and the police against each other. What a mess.
Those setting the law enforcement priorities in Hawaii county are addicted to the money and that drives the policy. Until we fix that by changing the laws marijuana crimes will get more resources than the violent crimes that do not pay. We as voters and citizens have to hold them accountable. The prosecutor, corporation council, and police leadership are refusing to obey the lowest priority law passed in Hawaii county. Lets just end this now and decriminalize or legalize it and move on to the many problems facing all of us. Until we do we are doomed to the social and economic black hole of the endless war on a basically useful plant.
Well written comments. God Bless You