Searchers have recovered some of the wreckage of a helicopter that disappeared off Molokai, says the lawyer for the parents of one of two men who were aboard the flight training aircraft.
Student pilot Jeremy Dossetter, 27, and instructor Oliver Kirsch, 25, were aboard the Mauna Loa Helicopters Robinson R44 that disappeared off the northwest coast of Molokai at night on Oct. 16, 2017. The Coast Guard suspended its search three days later after failing to locate any sign of the two men, who are presumed dead, or the helicopter.
Attorney Jeff Portnoy says after months of privately funded recovery efforts, searchers located some of the wreckage and brought it to the surface. He said the recovery effort ended about 10 days ago. He said searchers did not recover any bodies or personal effects.
The National Transportation Safety Board filed a preliminary report 10 days after the helicopter disappeared. It says an air traffic controller cleared the aircraft to return to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport after completing some practice approach and missed-approach procedures at Molokai Airport. The controller instructed the pilot to ascend to 4,000 feet and fly a heading of 260 degrees, then changed the heading to 240 degrees.
The report says shortly after the last instruction, the controller noticed the aircraft had dropped to 3,600 feet and then lost radar and radio communication with the helicopter.
Hawaii Pacific Aviation Inc., which does business as Mauna Loa Helicopters, agreed Thursday to pay $500,000 to the Estate of Jeremy M. Dossetter through his parents, who are the estate’s personal representatives, to clear the company of any present or future claims.
Hawaii Pacific Aviation lawyer Lyle Hosoda and Portnoy say both sides reached the settlement amicably and without the Dossetters having to file a lawsuit.
Portnoy says the Dossetters do plan to file a claim against the Federal Aviation Administration because they believe the air traffic controller wrongly sent the helicopter into bad weather.
