The crash at the weekend of a twin-engined skydiving plane on Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii, killing all 11 aboard, is the latest in a spate of fatal accidents involving skydiving or acrobatic aircraft.
Hawaii News Now reported that the aircraft was a Beechcraft 65 King Air operated by the Oahu Parachute Center. It plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff and burst into flames.
“It is very difficult,” fire chief Manuel Neves told reporters. “In my 40 years as a firefighter here in Hawaii, this is the most tragic aircraft incident we’ve had.”
US federal authorities arrived in Honolulu on Saturday to begin a formal investigation into one of the deadliest air crashes in Hawaii’s modern history.
The plane turned around shortly after takeoff and appeared to be heading back to the runway when it went down.
The death toll, 11, was the same as in December 1981 when a twin-engined Beechcraft carrying skydivers crashed into Pearl Harbor on the way to Aloha Stadium, where the skydivers were due to make a parachute jump.
The latest crash in Hawaii happened a week after two pilots died when a skydiving plane collided midair with another aircraft near the New Zealand North Island town of Masterton.
The New Zealand skydiving plane, operated by Skydive Wellington, was returning after dropping off four parachutists who had successfully completed their jumps.
Site of the crash in Hawaii
A few days before that, in central Poland, the pilot of a small stunt plane was killed after his craft plunged into the Vistula River during an air-show performance. The deceased was said to be an experienced German acrobatic pilot taking part in the VII Air Picnic in Plock, which features some 40 pilots.
The show was closed after the crash.
In the hours after the crash, state officials said 9 people had died. But Saturday morning, an FAA spokesperson told Hawaii News Now that their investigation showed 11 people had been on board the aircraft at the time of the accident. @LynnKawano reports: https://t.co/pyosOOE4VD pic.twitter.com/t3X9JngVoD
— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) June 22, 2019
Written by Peter Needham
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Not sure why the finger is being pointed at skydiving. None of the people were killed by the activity. Its like saying a plane full of boy scouts crashed so avoid being a boy scout.
Not sure why the finger is being pointed at skydiving. None of the people were killed by the activity. Its like saying a plane full of boy scouts crashed so avoid being a boy scout.