A witness to last week’s tour helicopter crash that killed five people on east Molokai said pieces of the copter fell from the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters aircraft as it descended, according to the a preliminary report released today by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Another person, with the clearest view of the incident, said the helicopter went “straight down” and hit the ground on its side, the report said.

The NTSB report said witnesses also noticed rain squalls in the area of the crash site, and that one witness said the crash occurred during a heavy rain squall.

Killed in the crash in mountainous terrain in Pukoo were Toronto visitors Stuart Robertson, 50, and Eva Birgitta Wannersjo, 47; Maui pilot Nathan Cline, 30; and Pittsburgh newlyweds Michael Todd Abel, 25, and Nicole Belivacqua-Abel, 28.

The five were on a one-hour tour from the Kahului Airport to West Maui and Molokai.