Rare Suskies Posted December 31, 2019 #1 Share Posted December 31, 2019 For our February 2020 POA port stop in Hilo, we've booked a helicopter tour of the volcano with Safari Helicopters, the same company whose helicopter recently crashed in Kauai. Ironically, we chose Safari because of their attention to safety. Would you still do the helicopter tour or cancel and switch to a land tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanner Posted December 31, 2019 #2 Share Posted December 31, 2019 We are scheduled for a helicopter tour on Kauai for our upcoming cruise (not with Safari). We have done Volcanoes NP with Blue Hawaiian in the past, and they have had tour crashes. We have done fixed wing tours in Alaska, as well as a helicopter to the glaciers. LIfe is uncertain, and no company is likely to escape any mishaps. The issue is that unlike ships, where a mishap normally doesn't result in loss of life, falling out of the sky is pretty certain to be deadly. Costa still cruises, and Carnival survived that "ordeal" a few years ago in the Caribbean. If you really want to experience the volcanoes from the air, you can always consider changing companies. Helicopters, like cars, are machines. Weather is uncertain (we almost were stranded due to weather on a bear flightseeing trip out of Ketchikan). The choice is yours, but don't miss the opportunity to take the flight if you really want to see the volcanoes from above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 31, 2019 #3 Share Posted December 31, 2019 You are going to take a car, bus or similar to the airport, right? All of those have crashed. You appear to be flying from the East Coast to Hawaii...planes have crashed... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princeton123211 Posted December 31, 2019 #4 Share Posted December 31, 2019 2 hours ago, Suskies said: Ironically, we chose Safari because of their attention to safety. Would you still do the helicopter tour or cancel and switch to a land tour? I'm in the aviation industry and frankly am not a huge fan of helicopters unless you need to use one. And even then, choppers are safer to use in populated areas (like a transfer from Manhattan to JFK) where rescue is easier vs operating one in an extremely rural area of Hawaii or over water. You can read the statistics a few different ways, but FAA stats support the fact that helicopter operations do have more fatalities per flight hour than fixed wing operations. Also, some helicopters are safer than others. You should never get into a single engine chopper. Always make sure its a twin engine one. I think switching to a fixed wing would be a good compromise here. Knowing what I know thats what I would do with my family. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat shepard Posted December 31, 2019 #5 Share Posted December 31, 2019 If you really are uncomfortable using the company you booked, I know the company I flew with, Paradise Helicopters, flies out of Hilo. They also have an excellent safety record. And are very highly regarded by the local folk. I would not cancel, if I were you. It is such a great way to see the Big Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BostonGal35 Posted December 31, 2019 #6 Share Posted December 31, 2019 we are doing hawaii in april, 2021 an intend to book a chopper. i appreciate the advice above regarding the single engine vs. dual engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lake dr Posted January 3, 2020 #7 Share Posted January 3, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 12:09 PM, BostonGal35 said: we are doing hawaii in april, 2021 an intend to book a chopper. i appreciate the advice above regarding the single engine vs. dual engine. The helicopter pilot was 69 yrs old and didn't have an instruments rating. I'm not saying low visibility played a role in the crash, but you can't pick your pilot. We did the helicopter tour a few years back, and fortunately we had a 50 some yr old pilot that was a retired Army helicopter pilot that had flown in 'Nam. We were lucky!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princeton123211 Posted January 3, 2020 #8 Share Posted January 3, 2020 4 hours ago, lake dr said: The helicopter pilot was 69 yrs old and didn't have an instruments rating. I'm not saying low visibility played a role in the crash, but you can't pick your pilot. I mean you can't in advance but you can also say no, I'm not flying with you today. No offense to older people but there is a reason that the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots in the US is 65. If I saw someone pushing 70 about to take my family up in a chopper I would politely decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northumberland Posted January 4, 2020 #9 Share Posted January 4, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 7:16 AM, Suskies said: For our February 2020 POA port stop in Hilo, we've booked a helicopter tour of the volcano with Safari Helicopters, the same company whose helicopter recently crashed in Kauai. Ironically, we chose Safari because of their attention to safety. Would you still do the helicopter tour or cancel and switch to a land tour? I wouldn't book a helicopter tour, but not because of safety concerns. The odds of getting hit by a bus crossing the street would be higher than another helicopter crashing. My deciding factor would be cost. I've ridden in a helicopter before and the last time we were in Hawaii, I tried a fixed wing glider flight on the north shore of Oahu. That was a blast and the pilot provided a great experience. Enjoy your tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squadron Posted January 8, 2020 #10 Share Posted January 8, 2020 On 1/3/2020 at 6:14 AM, lake dr said: The helicopter pilot was 69 yrs old and didn't have an instruments rating. I'm not saying low visibility played a role in the crash, but you can't pick your pilot. We did the helicopter tour a few years back, and fortunately we had a 50 some yr old pilot that was a retired Army helicopter pilot that had flown in 'Nam. We were lucky!!!! Having an instrument rating I would have thought would be a requirement. Also, a recent mountain flying course refresher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Suskies Posted February 15, 2020 Author #11 Share Posted February 15, 2020 Just want to thank you all for your very helpful perspectives. We ended up taking the Safari Helicopters volcano tour out of Hilo, and it was a fabulous experience. We felt very comfortable with the pilot's and staff's attention to safety. We flew on a picture-perfect day--virtually no clouds--which also put us at ease. Samantha, our pilot, said safety was her first priority and she might need to cut off the narration if she had to communicate with someone on the ground or another pilot. The views were amazing and we'll never forget them. So we felt completely comfortable with our decision to proceed with the flight. Thanks again, all! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat shepard Posted February 16, 2020 #12 Share Posted February 16, 2020 On 2/15/2020 at 1:45 PM, Suskies said: Just want to thank you all for your very helpful perspectives. We ended up taking the Safari Helicopters volcano tour out of Hilo, and it was a fabulous experience. We felt very comfortable with the pilot's and staff's attention to safety. We flew on a picture-perfect day--virtually no clouds--which also put us at ease. Samantha, our pilot, said safety was her first priority and she might need to cut off the narration if she had to communicate with someone on the ground or another pilot. The views were amazing and we'll never forget them. So we felt completely comfortable with our decision to proceed with the flight. Thanks again, all! Thrilled for you! It is an awesome way to see the Island. In the true sense of the word - awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATSEAMYLIFE Posted February 24, 2020 #13 Share Posted February 24, 2020 (edited) We have done helo on Kauai and Alaska. They rate up there with one of the top things to see on any vacation. You would not be able to experience Kauai via fixed wing and see the volcanic craters with dozens of waterfalls coming down the inside. Edited February 24, 2020 by ATSEAMYLIFE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon Posted January 28, 2022 #14 Share Posted January 28, 2022 On 2/23/2020 at 8:57 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said: We have done helo on Kauai and Alaska. They rate up there with one of the top things to see on any vacation. You would not be able to experience Kauai via fixed wing and see the volcanic craters with dozens of waterfalls coming down the inside. We are cruiseing to Kauai in April. Would like to book helicopter, any recommendations on company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepCalmBearOn Posted January 28, 2022 #15 Share Posted January 28, 2022 See my reply in the other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATSEAMYLIFE Posted February 1, 2022 #16 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 1/28/2022 at 11:45 AM, carbon said: We are cruiseing to Kauai in April. Would like to book helicopter, any recommendations on company? It's been to many years to recall. We were on our own and not a cruise. If on a cruise I would book with the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs f. Posted February 11, 2022 #17 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Instead of the helicopter, we did a 5 passenger plane..WINGS OVER KAUAI. Fantastic. They picked us up at pier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacation44 Posted March 1, 2022 #18 Share Posted March 1, 2022 On 2/11/2022 at 5:41 AM, Mrs f. said: Instead of the helicopter, we did a 5 passenger plane..WINGS OVER KAUAI. Fantastic. They picked us up at pier. Thank you for the information. I just went to their website and it does sound like something we would be interested in. Just have one question......how long were you up in the air? We will be on the POA next March with extended family and will be more than five and, unfortunately, more than 1100 pounds so we would need two trips up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs f. Posted March 1, 2022 #19 Share Posted March 1, 2022 I thought the website said.. I forget exactly but it was longer than the helicopter one. Somewhere are 65 min. They took a photo of us standing next to the plane. At the end they gave us a cd with Hawaiian music and on the cover was the photo they had taken of us. We recommended it to friends and they also loved it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squadron Posted March 4, 2022 #20 Share Posted March 4, 2022 On 1/3/2020 at 6:14 AM, lake dr said: The helicopter pilot was 69 yrs old and didn't have an instruments rating. I'm not saying low visibility played a role in the crash, but you can't pick your pilot. We did the helicopter tour a few years back, and fortunately we had a 50 some yr old pilot that was a retired Army helicopter pilot that had flown in 'Nam. We were lucky!!!! I would take a military pilot any time. The important thing is for the company to keep their pilots current on mountain flying for the gorges and hilly terrain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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