Aviator recounts accident

When Clyde Kawasaki heard a loud bang on his Cessna turboprop last week, he had precious few seconds to make a dangerous landing in rough water off Molokai’s Kalaupapa Peninsula.

"All I know is ‘bang’ and I had an annunciator panel that was full of red and yellow lights. The fire warning was going off, and I said, ‘OK, I’m in trouble now,’" Kawasaki recalled Wednesday.

One passenger, state Health Director Loretta Fuddy, 65, died after the Makani Kai Air crash, and seven others survived without major injury. Six were plucked from the water by rescue helicopters and one swam to shore. Officials have yet to release the cause of Fuddy’s death.

Kawasaki, 60, a former Aloha Airlines pilot, described the Dec. 11 incident for the media Wednesday morning at the Honolulu Airport headquarters of Makani Kai Air, his current employer.

Richard Schuman, owner of Makani Kai Air, said salvage firm Sea Engineering has recovered most of the airplane, including the engine, fuselage and wing sections. It should arrive back on Oahu this morning, allowing investigators to better determine the cause of the crash, he said.

For Kawasaki, who began flying planes when he was only 14, his instincts, experience and training took over when his plane suddenly lost power. He described trying to maintain airspeed and head for land.

And just as he was trying to decide whether he could make it, the water was approaching much too quickly. He leveled the aircraft, put the nose up and braced for impact.

Kawasaki’s head slammed against the instrument panel. The first thing he remembered upon coming out of a daze was seeing blood all over the controls.

Water was gushing into the aircraft and was already waist-deep as he rose from his seat. Most of the passengers had already jumped out of the plane when he grabbed a life jacket and headed up the aisle.

"One guy was standing there just kind of looking around," he said. "I gave him my life jacket. I said, ‘Go, get out of here!’"

Kawasaki started grabbing seat cushions and throwing them out to the passengers bobbing in the water. He remembers doing a quick head count and reporting to Makani Kai Air that all eight passengers appeared to be OK.

As for himself, he couldn’t find any other life vests. "I looked around and said, ‘Whatever.’ I saw a cooler. It was nearby and I tried to swim for it. But the wind and waves were so bad, I couldn’t catch it. There was no way."

The waves and wind were "horrendous," he said, scattering the group in all directions. Shortly after exiting the downed aircraft, Kawasaki saw a plane circling above. He then knew help was on the way. But Kawasaki was growing tired treading water and he swam to another passenger and asked if he could hold on.

After being picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter about a half-hour after the crash, he was shocked to learn Fuddy had died in the water.

"It was devastating to say the least," he said. "I didn’t understand how it could have happened. Everybody seemed fine when we got out of the airplane."

"It still hurts," he said. "I’m supposed to finish my career flying, whenever that happens, never having damaged an aircraft, never having hurt anybody. That’s how it’s supposed to end. Obviously, that’s not going to happen now, but … I feel really, really bad. It hurts. And especially for her family."

Kawasaki, who spent two days in a hospital, where a doctor put four stitches in his head, said he talked to the Fuddy family, but he would not say what they discussed.

Looking back on those desperate moments after the plane lost power, he said there wasn’t much time to think or react but he knew he had to get the plane under control.

"It just happens so quickly," he said. "People say ‘everything was in slow motion’ or ‘your life flashes before your eyes’ and all these cliches. But there was none of that. It was all real-time. It was all none of this ‘this can’t be happening to me.’ It was over and done, you’re in the water."

Kawasaki said pilot trainers teach you to land with the waves and into the wind, among other things. "But I’ll tell you what: There’s a lot of theory there and if you talk to anyone who ever’s ditched before — and now I have — you really don’t have time. When the time comes you just try to do the best with what you’ve got."

People are calling Kawasaki a hero, and his son, Randall Kawasaki, is one of them.

"First thing I thought when I heard he gave his life vest away was that was typical Dad. He doesn’t really think about himself. He always thinks of other people first. He is that kind of guy," the son said.

"My dad has always been my hero. He won’t admit it, but he is. He’s always putting himself first. That’s just the kind of dad he is."

But Clyde Kawasaki told reporters Wednesday, "I’m no hero. I’m just doing my job in a bad situation. I just did what I was supposed to do."

Kawasaki, married and the father of three sons and two daughters, grew up in Waimea on Hawaii island and graduated from Honokaa High School. He has worked at various island air companies over the years.

He said he’s still awaiting a doctor’s clearance to fly again, but he likely won’t get in the air again until next month.

When he flies back over Molokai, the pilot said, he’s not sure what he’ll be thinking.

"I know one thing will be on my mind: Don’t quit now, baby," he said, smiling. "It’s going to be interesting. Until that time happens, I don’t know what I’ll feel. I’m sure I’m going to have chicken skin."

He quickly added, "I know I won’t freak out."

Also appearing at the news conference were Josh Lang and his girlfriend, Jaimee Thomson, who were flying from Oahu to Maui when air traffic controllers directed them to the area where the Makani Kai plane went down. They were the first to spot the wreck and signal for help.

"It looked like most of the people were waving," Lang said. "They looked OK."

The pair circled the area until rescue crews arrived on the scene, they said.