User:Aviay/Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712

Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712

N707PV, the involved aircraft, at a stand
Accident
Date	28 October 1989 (1989-10-28)
Summary	Aircraft struck a rocky slope on it's approach at roughly 600 feet.
Site	Rural Mountians in the American state of Hawaii 21.16668°N 156.743277°W / 21.16668; -156.743277
Aircraft
Aircraft type	De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300
Operator	Aloha IslandAir
Call sign	Aloha IslandAir 1712
Registration	N707PV
Flight origin	Hana Airport
1st stopover	Kahului Airport
Last stopover	Molokai Airport
Destination	Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
Passengers	18
Crew	2
Fatalities	20

Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712 was a scheduled passenger flight that took place on the 28th of October in 1989. The service originated in Hana Airport, Maui, Hawaii and stopped over in Kahului Airport, Maui. It was scheduled to continue to Molokai Airport, Molokai and then to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, however it crashed while enroute from Kahului to Molokai. The leg in which the aircraft crashed was expected to take 25 minutes, on visual flight rules under provisions of 14 CFR Part 135. The De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 was on decent from 1,000 feet MSL to 500 feet MSL. The aircraft struck the terrain at 600 feet, and at a heading of 260°. Both crew members and all 18 passengers died in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the crash to be caused by pilot error.

Aircraft History

The aircraft involved was a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 registered as N707PV, and was assigned the serial number 400. It was delivered to its first airline, Sun Valley Key Airlines, on December 18 of 1973, the same year it was built in. The aircraft transfered from airline to airline between 1973 and 1988, and was then sold to Aloha Islandair on March 10th of 1988, and started service during November of the same year.

The aircraft was outfitted with 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engines. It had 19,875 clocked flight hours, and had 30,139 total cycles.

Crew and Passengers

Front page of The Honolulu Advertiser, on the crash of the flight 1712

Onboard the aircraft, there were 18 passengers and two crew members. The first crew member was the captain, 30 year old Captain Bruce Pollard. He started his aviation career at Aloha IslandAir with Princeville Airways, which was eventually formed into Aloha IslandAir. He started as a ramp agent, and then became a first officer for in April of 1988. He upgraded to the role of captain just 15 months later in August of 1989. The captain had one other incident and one violation with the FAA. The incident occured in Febuary of 1986 with a Piper PA-28 in Juneau, Alaska. Pollard lost horitontal directional control of his aircraft while on approach, and ground looped on the runway. The cause was determined to be malfunctioning brakes. The violation occured 4 years prior to 1712, when Pollard was determined by the FAA to have violated 14 CFR Part 135, when he acted as pilot-in-command on five air taxi flights, despite the fact that he had not had proper certification, and for operating an aircraft in a careless of reckless matter. He had his commercial pilot licence suspended for six months. At the time of the incident, the FAA in Oklahoma City reported he had 3,542 flight hours.

The second crew member was 27 year old First Officer Philip Helfrich. His first position at the airline was also as a ramp agent, which started in July of 1988. He began flight lessons in August of 1987. With 62 flight hours, he recieved his private pilot licence and single-engine land rating only 3 month after, on November 11 of 1987. He continued with flight lessons, whilst building stature in the airline by continuing with his ramp agent position. 17 months after recieving his PPL, with 233 flight hours, he recieved his commercial pilot licence, with single and multi-engine land and instrument ratings. Aloha Islandair hired him as a first officer in August of 1989, and completed a 14 CFR Part 135.297 flight check the same month. At the time of the incident, the FAA in Oklahoma City reported he had 425 flight hours.

The 18 passengers included 5 girls volleyball team players and their head coach, 3 boys volleyball team players, and the athletic director of Molokaʻi High School. There were also 4 Hawaii locals onboard, 2 passengers from Pennsylvania and 2 passengers from Texas. No cabin crew were onboard, as they are not required for CFR Part 135 airlines.

Incident

Earlier the day of the incident, the same crew flew 6 uneventful interisland flights on the same aircraft. Flight 1712 operated from Hana Airport, to Kahului Airport, and was scheduled to continue to Molokai/Kaunakakai Airport, and to terminate at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. The aircraft arrived at Kahului from Hana at 6:15 pm local time. The sun had set 22 minutes earlier, at 5:53. No issues were reported before the aircrafts final flight, however First Officer Helfrich noted to ramp agent that their route looked dark.