On Dec. 15, a medical transport plane crashed near Maui with three people on board. The Coast Guard suspended the active search on Dec. 18 and the identities of the three members on board have not been released.
A C90 Beechcraft King Air operated by Hawaii Life Flight lost contact with the coast guard around 9.30 p.m. when it was at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The plane was 15 nautical miles off Hana when it lost contact. Hawaiinewsnow said the plane departed from Kahalui on its way to the Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE) with three crew members and no passengers.
Coast Guard aircraft spotted an oil sheen in the search area and a USCG patrol boat recovered aircraft debris in the area. There was no confirmation that the recovered debris was from the medical transport plane missing. The search was called off the next day.
Global Medical Response shared a message sent by Speedy Bailey, Hawaii Regional Director and Mark Leggett, Program Director, on Facebook. They said the difficult decision to end searching was made and the primary focus of supporting and comforting the loved ones remains. Due to the crash, Hawaii Life Flight was grounding services until further notice.
The Coast Guard shared that they had searched over 4,732 square nautical miles over 67 hours. Involved in the search were multiple helicopter aircrews, multiple Hercules aircrews, multiple Maui 45-foot response boat-medium crews, the crew of the coast guard, coast guard auxiliary aircrews and aircrews from the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol.
“Working with U.S. Coast Guard assets, the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, our team conducted a total of 28 searches, over the course of 67 hours, covering over 4,732 square nautical miles,” said Jennifer Conklin, the Coast Guard District 14 Search and Rescue Program Manager. “While it is not an easy decision, we have suspended the active search pending any further new information.”
Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation to ensure medical care can still be provided. Green said they will supplement Hawaii’s medical airlift capacity with crews and aircraft from out of state and allow out-of-state actively licensed medical workers to operate in the area. Because of this proclamation, they have been given access to the Army National Guard and the use of two Black Hawk medical evaluation helicopters to move personnel. The emergency proclamation will expire on Dec. 27 but it is unclear how long Hawaii Life Flight will be down.
Many of the islands rely on medical air transport to send patients to places like Oahu for critical medical care. One island, Lanai, has limited medical facilities and uses air transport to bring patients to major hospitals for treatment. One of three practicing doctors on the island, Dr. John Janikowski, told Hawaiinewsnow that convincing patients to board the medical transport planes has always been difficult, with many refusing medivac flights despite the need for immediate medical care. Janikowski shared with Hawaiinewsnow that he feels the recent crash will make patients more hesitant than before.
The weather the night of the crash was rainy and windy and the channel where the plane went down is known for choppy ocean conditions, Hawaiinewsnow said. The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the crash.
Contact
Name: Haley Davoren
, Digital Content Manager
Company: GlobalAir.com
Website: http://globalair.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 502-456-3934
©2022 GlobalAir.com, Haley Davoren. All rights reserved.
