The pilot of a vintage Hawker Hunter fighter that crashed in dramatic fashion off Waikiki on Dec. 12 reported that the jet experienced a loss of power
at 500 feet after taking off from Honolulu airport,
according to a preliminary report released by the
National Transportation Safety Board.
“The pilot attempted
to restart the engine, but the airspeed continued to decay, at which point he decided to eject,” according to the report issued Monday.
Contract pilot Matt
Pothier, 47, came down in the water about 2 miles south of Kewalo Basin near two parasail boats — one of which had two parasailers in the air.
The X-treme Parasail boat, with about 10 passengers on board, went to the rescue and helped Pothier untangle himself from his parachute and board an arriving Coast Guard vessel.
The NTSB still is conducting an investigation into the crash of the circa-1958 jet. Its operator, the Airborne Tactical
Advantage Co., had two of the camouflage-painted Hawker Hunters based in Hawaii for use with the Navy and Air Force.
“This is still an ongoing investigation, so beyond what’s kind of summarized in the report, there’s really no new information that we have that can be shared right now,” John Zentner,
a spokesman for Virginia-based ATAC, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The presence of the former military fighters is only expected to grow in
in the isles in coming years with the Defense Department seeking more economical opposition training options for its front-line jets — including its Oahu-based F-22 Raptor fighters.
ATAC was flying two contracted Hawker Hunters in an adversary or “red air” role in the Hawaii Air
National Guard’s big Sentry Aloha fighter training exercise at the time of the crash.
ATAC’s Hawker Hunters, British-made jets that first flew in 1951, had been training several times a month with F-22s, and made regular appearances in Navy Rim of the Pacific exercises every other year. The ATAC planes were based at the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps base.
The aircraft “have been fully refurbished and
upgraded with modern avionics to support the highest standard of safety,” ATAC said in a previous email.
In addition, aircraft are routinely inspected for airworthiness by the Defense Department and have been deemed safe for flight,
according to ATAC. The crashed aircraft had been in service with ATAC for over 15 years.
Zentner said Wednesday that ATAC has resumed
flying operations in Hawaii in support of a contract with the Navy. He declined to say if that’s with just one aircraft or with two.
The Air Force wants more “adversary air” of the type offered by ATAC and other contractors to fly against its F-22 pilots, with the contracted jets costing the military far less than using its own adversary air squadrons, which are in short supply.
The tail section of the crashed fighter — with
its engine and “black box” — was recovered last month in about 265 feet of water off Kewalo Basin, the Coast Guard said. The NTSB said the aircraft was “destroyed” as a result of the crash.
Pothier had back surgery to fuse two vertebrae following the violent effects of the ejection.
Asked if Pothier would fly again for ATAC, Zentner said “that’s something
that we’re going to have
to defer. That’s going to
be a decision for Matt. But he’s doing well in his recovery and we’ll stay in touch with him every day.”
