Aerospatiale AS350BA accident near Haena, Hawaii, September 24, 2005
On September 24, 2005, a Aerospatiale AS350BA (helicopter), registered N355NT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Haena, Hawaii. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's decision to continue flight into adverse weather conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to an encounter with a microburst. Contributing to the accident was inadequate Federal Aviation Administration surveillance of Special Federal Aviation Regulation 71 operating restrictions. Contributing to the loss of life in the accident was the lack of helicopter flotation equipment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 2005
- Place
- Haena, Hawaii · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS350BA · all AS350BAs on the register
- Registration
- N355NT · registry record · serial 2053
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
[ The Safety Board's full brief is available at http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm. The Aviation Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/01. ] On September 23, 2005, about 1415 Hawaiian standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N355NT, registered to Jan Leasing, LLC, and operated by Heli-USA Airways, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, encountered adverse weather and crashed into the Pacific Ocean several hundred feet off the coast of Kailiu Point, near Haena, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The sightseeing air tour flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and visual flight rules with a company flight plan in effect. Localized instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. Three passengers were killed, and the commercial pilot and two other passengers received minor injuries. The flight departed from Lihue Airport, Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, at 1354 for the intended 45-minute tour.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,814 hours in all; 334 in this make and model; 176 in the last 90 days; 115 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: August 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,483 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 2005; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,258 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 1B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LIH Lihue HI at 10:54 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,400 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.86 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 pm from LIH, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N355NT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.