Kauai Fatal Tourist Helicopter Crash, 3/26/2026

That sucks. Such a beautiful area to fly over, then bam.
 
bonefishpete said:
I don't know. I guess we may find out.
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I've never seen an NTSB probable cause mention the age of the aircraft as a factor. But if you were to research, you may be surprised at the average age of the aircraft in general and especially helicopters flying in commercial ops.
 
Bell206 said:
I've never seen an NTSB probable cause mention the age of the aircraft as a factor. But if you were to research, you may be surprised at the average age of the aircraft in general and especially helicopters flying in commercial ops.
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Maybe because new helicopters are too expensive to purchase for the tourist sightseeing flights?
It's a money thing. Same reason student pilots are training in 50 year old airframes instead of new piper or cessna 2025 models outside of a very few collage programs.
 
bonefishpete said:
Maybe because new helicopters are too expensive to purchase for the tourist sightseeing flights?
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Not really. Some tour ops do cycle out their fleets similar to how airlines do with their fleets. And with some aircraft models there may not be a suitable replacement on the market. But "new" doesn't equate to better either on several levels given the rotable nature and design of most aircraft. That is the same reason you still see Cessna 50 year old training aircraft as there is no operational benefit to buy a new aircraft. But if you are looking for some indicator to benchmark aircraft then look at hours or cycles in service vs age.
 
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