Federal investigators called for tougher regulations and training for Hawai'i air tour operators yesterday after reviewing two deadly sightseeing helicopter crashes on Kaua'i, and finding they were probably caused by poor decisions by the pilots.

"The air tour industry in Hawai'i serves hundreds of thousands of paying passengers each year," said Mark V. Rosenker, National Transportation Safety Board chairman. "The public deserves an appropriate level of safety."

Hawai'i tour operators yesterday said they were open to any suggestions from the safety board, with some adding that they already have added safety measures in the wake of the two crashes.

The first happened in September 2004, when five people died after a Bali Hai helicopter slammed into a mountainside on Kaua'i. The second happened a year later, when a Heli USA craft flew into a storm and crashed in the water, killing three.

"I want to do anything to increase safety," said Nigel Turner, president and chief executive officer of Heli USA. "The NTSB came up with some very good ideas."

The safety board said the Federal Aviation Administration should require that air tour operators make safety improvements to their aircraft and give their pilots more — and more regular — training. It also said the industry should be under more oversight.

REDUCING RISKS

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency is reviewing the recommendations and will formally respond within 90 days. The administration last toughened regulations for tour operators in Hawai'i in 1994, requiring minimum experience for pilots, mandatory pre-flight briefings for passengers and pontoons or life jackets.

Gregor said the regulations spurred a sharp decrease in air tour accidents.

"We think the existing rule is a good rule, and it's been an effective rule," he said. "Of course, we're going to thoroughly review the NTSB's recommendations."

There have been 34 fatal helicopter accidents in the Islands since 1964, according to the NTSB. The last fatal helicopter accident on O'ahu was in 1993.

The new scrutiny from Washington focuses on one of Hawai'i's most popular tourist pastimes. About one in 10 tourists who visited the Islands in 2005 took an air tour, state tourism liaison Marsha Weinert said. That's more than 750,000 passengers.

A typical 45-minute trip can cost about $200 per person.

David Chevalier, chief executive officer of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, said he supported the safety board's recommendations. The board is "trying to achieve better safety overall, and I agree with these recommendations," he said.

"We have to do everything within our power to reduce risks."

TRAINING FOR WEATHER

Specifically, the safety board called for developing a required pilot training program for Hawai'i air tour pilots that stresses the hazardous weather patterns in the state.

Chevalier said Blue Hawaiian already trains pilots on the weather conditions particular to Hawai'i because he said the weather here can surprise pilots from other parts of the country.

Each island has "micro-weather that is particular to that section of the island that you need to understand, or you can get in trouble if you don't understand what's going on," Chevalier said.

The board also said the FAA should more closely monitor tour operators to ensure they are following regulations and offering continual training opportunities for pilots.

"I think that is absolutely critical," said Chevalier, whose company flies about 150,000 tourists a year. "Whatever law is in effect, it must be strictly enforced. There must be direct surveillance, and the FAA needs the staffing to be able to do that."

Chevalier also approved of the NTSB's call for National Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology on the air tour routes in Hawai'i. He said the new equipment will cost operators money, but said the extra degree of safety will be worth it.

"The sooner we get it here in Hawai'i, the better it will be, and the safer it will make things," he said.

REGULATIONS SUPPORT

Robert Butler, executive director of the Tour Operators Program of Safety, said pumped-up safety regulations will help the industry get customers.

To belong to the organization, helicopter companies must agree to tough regulations and annual audits. Four Hawai'i helicopter companies are members: Blue Hawaiian, Hawai'i Helicopter of Maui, Sunshine Helicopters and Makani Kai Helicopters.

"We as an industry need to establish guidelines that are going to be even more restrictive than what the FAA requires," said Butler, whose organization represents tour operators from around the country. "The industry should lead and not be regulated."

In the 2005 Kaua'i helicopter crash, the board found that the probable cause of the accident was the pilot's decision to fly into bad weather conditions, where a sudden, violent downdraft of air caused him to lose control and crash into the ocean.

The pilot and two passengers lived, but three passengers died.

The board also found that the probable cause of the 2004 crash was the pilot's decision to continue the helicopter's flight into turbulent weather, causing him to lose control and crash into a mountainside. The pilot and his four passengers were killed.

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com and Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.