NTSB investigators arrive at Molokai helicopter crash site
Investigators have arrived at the site where a tour helicopter crashed into a hillside on Molokai island, killing the pilot and all four passengers on board.
Maui County police Lt. Wayne Ibarra said today that National Transportation Safety Board investigators and Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived this morning.
Investigators often put together preliminary reports on crashes within a week or two. But it’s frequently months before they’re able to determine a cause.
The pilot was Nathan Cline, 30, of Kihei.
Two of the victims were newlyweds who worked for Westinghouse Electric Corp. in northwestern Pennsylvania, a company spokesman confirmed.
Nicole Bevilacqua and Mike Abel were married before coming to Hawaii for their honeymoon, said Vaughn Gilbert, Westinghouse public relations and advertising manager. A wedding registry indicated they were married Nov. 5 in Pittsburgh.
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Bevilacqua and Abel were engineers for the company’s nuclear services product line in Cranberry Township, Pa., Gilbert said Friday. “They were highly regarded by their colleagues, their co-workers and the company. Everyone within Westinghouse is saddened by this accident,” Gilbert said.
Maui County said the other two passengers were from Ontario, Canada.