Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kula, Hawaii 96790
Sunday, October 17, 2004 21:24 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

About seven minutes after takeoff, the airplane impacted a volcanic mountain at the 3,750-foot level. Recorded radar data showed that after departure, the airplane made a turn towards the accident site, and made a steady climb to 3,600 feet on a heading of about 143 degrees. Radar data showed that the flight track was steady and level, and the last 2 minutes of flight were at 3,600 feet. Radio communications between the pilot and tower controllers were normal, and the pilot made no distress calls prior to the accident. The weather was clear beneath a high overcast, with a dark night, and no moon. Examination of the airframe revealed no discrepancies with the flight controls. Both engines were examined, with no mechanical anomalies noted that would have precluded normal operations, and abundant evidence of symmetrical power being developed at impact.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to maintain adequate clearance from mountainous terrain during cruise flight. A factor in the accident was the dark night lighting conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/17/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2124
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City Kula
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96790
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 204049N
Event Location Longitude 1562122W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2054 Hawaii Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID OGG
Elevation of weather observation facility 54
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation HST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 7500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22041
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 18 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 114
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 14 2007 2:53PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-HNL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7049L
NTSB Number LAX05FA011
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 310K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 310K0149
Certified Max Gross Weight 5200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5875.5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WardAir Aviation, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1448A Akiikii Pl
Aircraft Owner City Kailua
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96734
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OGG
Departure City Kahului
Departure State HI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2118
Departure Time Zone HST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KOA
Destination City Kailua-Kona
Destination State HI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2007 5:03PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --