Helicopter downed in town unfixable, but pilot flies on

Question: Whatever happened in the aftermath of that helicopter crash-landing in downtown Honolulu on May 8, 2013?

Answer: The Robinson R22 Beta helicopter that went down on Fort Street has been scrapped, but its pilot and passenger are up in the air again.

Shortly before the helicopter touched down on the busy street at about 3:20 p.m., its pilot Julie Link and passenger Karl Hedberg were 3,000 feet in the air, circling Punchbowl Crater. Hedberg, a photographer for Aerial Photography and Video Hawaii, had just snapped the shots he needed when the recently refurbished helicopter suddenly went silent. Link worked quickly, taking about 90 seconds to land the helicopter on the street, damaging a parked Mazda and a parking meter.

Benjamin Fouts, president of Mauna Loa Helicopters and agent for HLMAviation Services Inc., the aircraft’s owner, said the engine failed because of a cable installation error in a fuel control carburetor. A cable broke, and although the engine was not supposed to be affected, the engine was starved of fuel, Fouts said.

The Honolulu Fire Department, along with Emergency Medical Services, responded to the scene of the crash.

"Our role basically was to make sure they (the passengers) were receiving medical (care), and secure the scene and protect against possible fire ignition, and none occurred," Capt. Terry Seelig said, adding that a fire risk was posed by the aviation fuel in the helicopter.

Link and Hedberg, 30 years old and 72 years old at the time, respectively, refused treatment at the scene. Since then, they have buckled up for multiple flights together in the same type of aircraft.

Link now flies tours for Mauna Loa Helicopters on Kauai. She says not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about the incident. In February, she spoke about the experience at the International Helicopter Safety Symposium in Anaheim, Calif.

"Looking back the year after I couldn’t believe that happened to me," she said. "It certainly changed the way you think about life; it changes the way you think about flying."

The crash left the helicopter unfixable, Fouts said. "You know, they’re kind of designed to absorb the impact to save the pilot and the passenger in a hard landing, and it did its job. But the helicopter is not suitable to return to flight," he said.

Brant Swigart, owner of Hawaii Air Power Labs Inc., which contracts parts of Mauna Loa’s maintenance, ended up issuing payment to insurance companies. In the case of the car, owned by a Hawaii Pacific University student, he paid the insurance company what it paid the owner for his car.

"It’s not a storybook ending," he said. "I’m just trying to do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

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This update was written by Noelle Fujii. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.