Hawaii’s highly changeable, localized weather could be a factor in the fatal crash of another air-tour helicopter. The NTSB is investigating the November 10 crash of a new Eurocopter EC130B4 EcoStar on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. The EcoStar was operated by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, the launch customer for the EcoStar in 2001, and was owned by a Nevada leasing company. Blue Hawaiian president David Chevalier said the helicopter was less than a year old. The midday crash killed pilot Nathan Kline, 30, and the four tourists aboard during a 45-minute sightseeing flight from Maui to Molokai.
Witnesses at an elementary school near the crash site reported heavy rain squalls at the time of the accident. Official weather at the time was gusty winds out of the northeast from 17 to 27 knots, eight miles visibility and multiple scattered and broken cloud layers from 2,600 to 4,500 feet.
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