Maui pilot’s partner offers prayers for crash victims

The ex-wife and longtime business partner of the late Maui Air pilot Richard Rooney said this is a difficult time for all the families whose loved ones died or were injured in a charter plane crash Feb. 26 on Lanai.

"My prayers go out to all the friends and family members of all the passengers on that flight," Sheila Magers said in a written statement, her first since last week’s tragedy.

"We are all grieving," she said. "Families either lost their loved ones or they are in the hospital. I lost the man I loved and worked with for 27 years. Our prayers are for them."

Magers and Rooney were married for about 25 years but divorced in December. They remained close and continued to work together.

Rooney, 66, was among three people killed in the Feb. 26 plane crash on central Lanai. Two Maui Planning Department employees — Kathleen Kern, 50, and Tremaine Balberdi, 53 — also died in the crash.

Kern was project lead and senior planner on the Lanai Community Plan team, and Balberdi was a secretary.

Three survivors were transported to the Queen’s Medical Center. Planner Doug­las Miller and geographic information systems analyst Mark King suffered critical injuries. Deputy Corporation Counsel James Giroux suffered serious injuries.

The twin-engine 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain went down in an area known as Miki Basin shortly after takeoff from Lanai Airport.

Magers wrote that she does not know what caused the charter flight to go down. "Maui Air is cooperating fully with the FAA and the NTSB to understand what took place," she said.

Officials concluded their on-scene investigation of the crash Monday, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokes­man Peter Knudson. A preliminary report is expected to be released next week.

Magers handled Maui Air’s sales, while Rooney handled the flights for the Kahu­lui-based company.

Bill Entrekin, who regularly communicated with Magers when he worked as a senior concierge at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapa­lua, said he often referred clients to Maui Air to take the Big Island volcano tour, which included an aerial view of Kilauea volcano.

"Rooney was cordial, quiet and very professional," said Entrekin, who took the volcano tour himself. He was a good pilot, Entrekin added.

Maui Air was established in June 1993 and offers volcano tours over Kilauea and "eco flights" to Hana, Hale­akala, Mauna Loa and Hilo, according to its website.

Magers registered the parent company, Maui Island Air Inc., to do business as Maui Air and Volcano Air Tours. Rooney was listed in state business registration records as president of the company, and Magers as its vice president and 50 percent co-owner.