2019 — June 21 — Skydiving charter plane crash, Dillingham Airfield, Oahu, HI — 11

–11  Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation…” 6-24-2019.

–11  NTSB. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.”

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Preliminary Report: “On June 21, 2019, at 1822 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Beech 65-A90, N256TA, collided  with terrain after takeoff from Dillingham Airfield (HDH), Mokuleia, Hawaii. The commercial pilot and ten passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane  was owned by N80896 LLC, and was being operated by Oahu Parachute Center (OPC) under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations  Part 91 as a local sky-diving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

 

“According to the owner of OPC, the accident flight was the fourth of five parachute jump flights scheduled for that day. Two flights took place between 0900 and 0930 and the third departed about 1730 on the first of what OPC called, “sunset” flights. The occupants on the accident flight included the pilot, three tandem parachute instructors and their three customers, and two camera operators; two solo jumpers decided to join the accident flight at the last minute.

 

“The passengers were loaded onto the airplane while it was on the taxiway next to the OPC facility on the southeast side of the airport. A parachute instructor at OPC observed the  boarding process and watched as the airplane taxied west to the departure end of runway 8. He could hear the engines during the initial ground roll and stated that the sound was normal, consistent with the engines operating at high power. When the airplane came into his view as it headed toward him, it was at an altitude of between 150 and 200 ft above ground level and appeared to be turning. He could see its belly, with the top of the cabin facing the ocean to the north. The airplane then struck the ground in a nose-down attitude, and a fireball erupted

 

“The final second of the accident sequence was captured in the top left frame of a surveillance  video camera located at the southeast corner of the airport. Preliminary review of the video data revealed that just before impact the airplane was in an inverted 45° nose-down attitude.

 

“Runway 8/26 at Dillingham Airfield is a 9,007-ft-long by 75-ft-wide asphalt runway, with displaced thresholds of 1,993 ft and 1,995 ft, respectively. A parachute landing area was located  beyond the departure end of runway 8, and the standard takeoff procedure required a left turn over the adjacent beach to avoid that landing zone. The displaced threshold areas had been designated for sailplane and tow-plane use, with powered aircraft advised to maintain close  base leg turns to assure separation.

 

“The airplane came to rest inverted on a heading of about 011° magnetic, 500 ft north of the runway centerline, and 5,550 ft beyond the runway 8 numbers, where the takeoff roll began. The debris field was confined to a 75-ft-wide area just inside the airport perimeter fence. The cabin, tail section, and inboard wings were largely consumed by fire, and both wings outboard of the engine nacelle sustained leading edge crush damage and thermal exposure. Both engines came to rest in the center of the debris field, and fragments of the vertical and both horizontal stabilizers were located within the surrounding area.” (National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.”)

 

Media:

 

June 23: “A skydiving plane that went down in Hawaii, killing all 11 people aboard, crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, authorities said. The incident involving the twin-engine plane happened Friday evening at Dillingham Airfield on Oahu’s North Shore, leaving mangled metal scattered across the area….

 

“The airfield is about 35 miles northwest of Honolulu, and is a general aviation airport operated by the state Department of Transportation under a 25-year lease from the US Army. The state leases 272 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and operates the single 5,000-foot runway primarily for commercial glider and skydiving operations.” (CNN. “A plane full of skydivers crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, officials say.” 6-23-2019 update.

 

June 24: “A National Transportation Safety Board team tasked with investigating the skydiving charter plane that crashed in Hawaii Friday — killing 11 people in the deadliest U.S. civil aviation accident since 2011 — says they are going to focus on the quality of repairs that had been made on the aircraft in the years leading up to the disaster.

 

“It has emerged that the plane involved in the accident had crashed in 2016 in California and sustained significant damage to its tail. It was repaired and then returned to service before crashing again last week in a flight operated by the Oahu Parachute Center skydiving company….‘We will be looking at the quality of those repairs and whether it was inspected and whether it was airworthy,’ the NTSB’s Jennifer Homendy said, adding that the 1967 Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop plane was equipped to carry 13 people….

 

“Friday’s crash was the most deadly civil aviation accident in the United States since a 2011 Reno Air Show wreck killed a pilot and 10 spectators in Nevada, the Associated Press reported.

 

“Witnesses say the plane crashed 20 or 30 seconds after it took off.

 

“‘It’s now confirmed that 11 people died in the terrible crash at Dillingham Airfield,’ Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell tweeted over the weekend.

 

“Some family members who did not go on the skydiving trip were present at the crash site. Hawaii News Now reported the plane was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived and that smoke was visible for miles….

 

“Police told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the victims included two women and nine men and that five of the victims were in their late 20s.

 

“The family of one skydiver, 29-year-old Casey Williamson, is sharing its grief with the world before names are officially released. They say he loved adventure and would spend summer skydiving in Moab, Utah and the winter snowboarding in Vail, Colo. He moved to Hawaii a year-and-a-half ago to skydive year-round….” (Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation shifts focus to ‘quality’ of repairs made following 2016 crash.” 6-24-2019.

 

June 24: “A federal safety official put aircraft regulators on notice Monday [24th], calling for further regulations on parachute operations after a skydiving plane crash in Hawaii killed 11 people. The National Transportation Safety Board identified safety concerns more than a decade ago, but board member Jennifer Homendy said the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t acted. ‘Are we trying to put the FAA on notice for this? Yes,’ Homendy said at a news conference. ‘Accidents continue to happen. There have been fatalities since that time.’

 

“The FAA disputed those claims, saying it responded to the recommendations by revising safety guidance for parachute operators and increasing safety outreach. It also required safety inspectors to monitor parachute operations, the FAA said in a statement.

 

“Monday’s exchange came three days after a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff on the north shore of Oahu, killing all 11 aboard. It marked the deadliest civil aviation accident in the United States since 2011. The Hawaii medical examiner is still confirming the identities of the victims. Officials released the names of seven victims on Monday:

 

  • Joshua Drablos, 27, of Virginia, and stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Navy
  • Nikolas Glenov, 28, of St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Ashley Weikel, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Bryan Weikel, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Daniel Herndon, 35, of Hawaii
  • Michael Martin, 32, of Hawaii
  • Jordan Tehero, 23, of Kauai…..”

(USA Today (Kristin Lam). “Fatal Hawaii skydiving plane crash renews NTSB’s call for stricter rules: ‘Accidents continue to happen’.” 6-24-2019, updated 6-25-2019.)

 

Sources

 

CNN (Faith Karimi and Ray Sanchez). “A plane full of skydivers crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, officials say.” 6-23-2019 update. Accessed 6-24-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/23/us/hawaii-deadly-skydiving-crash-sunday/index.html

 

Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation shifts focus to ‘quality’ of repairs made following 2016 crash.” 6-24-2019. Accessed 6-24-2019 at: https://www.foxnews.com/us/ntsb-investigating-repairs-to-plane-that-crashed-in-hawaii-killing-11

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.” Accessed 7-13-2019 at: https://www.scribd.com/document/416338201/NTSB-s-preliminary-report-on-skydiving-plane-crash#from_embed

 

USA Today (Kristin Lam). “Fatal Hawaii skydiving plane crash renews NTSB’s call for stricter rules: ‘Accidents continue to happen’.” 6-24-2019, updated 6-25-2019. Accessed 6-25-2019 at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/24/hawaii-skydiving-plane-crash-ntsb-criticism-faa/1554311001/