How safe are Hawaiian helicopter tours?

[luckylady83]

My sister's friend spends a lot of time on Maui and has advised us not to take any helicopter tours as they hear of frequent crashes that don't always make national news. Does anyone have any info regarding safety statistics?:confused:

[bobnsandi]

My sister's friend spends a lot of time on Maui and has advised us not to take any helicopter tours as they hear of frequent crashes that don't always make national news. Does anyone have any info regarding safety statistics?:confused:

There have been very few accidents in the past five years or so. Only one, to my recallection, on Maui that involved a helicopter tour. And yes, it did make the national news as the family in NJ sent the articles. I don't know the data, but I'd venture to say it is no more or less hazardous than sightseeing tours anywhere (Grand Canyon, etc.)

 

That said, there is always the liklihood of an accident—anytime you get out of bed. If you want to see Maui from a really unique perspective, take an aerial tour. I was on one last week and it was awesome! Enjoy...

[RvrCrzr]

Here is the most recent crash:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_fullstory.asp?id=24094

 

Others:

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Four+killed+in+tour+helicopter+crash&id=40652

 

http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=399

 

I think for the amount of tours they give...their safety records are pretty good. These copters are flying around everywhere in the islands.

 

Things can go wrong though.

[daWoods]

There's a risk of danger in every day life. You take a risk getting on a plane to fly to Hawaii, or in a car to get to the airport, or walking out your front door.

[spleen93]

Agreed ... there is risk in everything. Helicopter rides in general are probably a somewhat higher risk than other activities but I wouldn't say it's more unsafe in Maui than anywhere in the US. I would go for it! I've loved the helicopter rides that I've been on and wouldn't trade them in for anything ...

 

Spleen

[Sammy]

I posted this in an earlier thread because this question is often asked:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=85820&highlight=helicopter+pilot

 

My son is an Apache helicopter pilot and he sent me this information on how to research and the proper perspective to have. There are relatively few considering the number of flights made. He tells you which type copter to look for (mostly newer fleet) and how to find the N-number, which tells you the year the copter was built.

 

If you really want to research this.

 

Sammy