Two fatal helicopter crashes on Kaua'i have caused some tourists to think twice about the popular sightseeing activity while others still see it as safer than driving a car.

John Flynn, a retired homicide detective from San Diego, said he and his wife, Paula, took a helicopter tour on Kaua'i 20 years ago. He said he wouldn't do it today after watching television reports on the deadly crashes.

"I personally, right now, would not go on a tour in Hawai'i because of the news, and I just kind of question the maintenance," Flynn said in an interview yesterday in Hilo, Hawai'i.

"I can only assume that the pilots are properly trained, and I assume that the aircraft are properly maintained, but something's wrong."

On Thursday, a Heli USA Airways helicopter crashed at Princeville Airport, killing the pilot and three of its six passengers. About 70 hours later and five miles to the west, a helicopter operated by Inter-Island Helicopters crashed, killing one of its four passengers.

Lindy Cody of Burlington, Colo., said she'd think twice about booking a helicopter tour after hearing about the crashes.

Cody, who is touring the Islands aboard NCL's Pride of America, which was docked at Maui's Kahului Harbor yesterday, said she enjoyed a sightseeing flight in Los Angeles years ago.

Cody said she didn't think of helicopters as being unsafe. She hadn't considered a helicopter tour on this trip to the Islands. If she had, the two crashes "definitely would affect my decision."

Industry executives stressed that helicopter tours are safe and that accidents rarely occur.

Tour operators are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, which also licenses pilots and inspects operators' maintenance programs, said Richard Schuman, president of Makani Kai Helicopters, which flies several daily O'ahu tours from Honolulu Airport.

Operators also provide customers with safety training and provide training for pilots, mechanics and ground crews, he said.

"Everything we do is related to making sure that this activity is unquestionably the safest activity that visitors can do while they are visiting in Hawai'i," said Schuman.

"We're similar to a jet airliner except we're smaller. We have as many rules and regulations to follow."

The Kaua'i tragedies didn't discourage Jimmy Martin from taking a one-hour helicopter tour of O'ahu yesterday with Makani Kai.

Martin, an electrician in Enterprise, Ala., said he's flown on government-owned helicopters hundreds of times as a civilian contractor without incident.

"As far as I'm concerned, flying is fairly safe," said Martin. "It's safer than a car."

That sentiment was shared by Zane Coats, who took his first helicopter ride yesterday and was on the same flight as Martin.

"They have car crashes everyday, they have airplane crashes all the time. It's part of life," said Coats, an account manager for an electrical supply company in Valdosta, Ga.

Las Vegas resident Robbie Lively said he went on a Maui helicopter tour on his first trip to the island last July. He views the two crashes in four days as freak events and would recommend a sightseeing air tour to others.

"I have to fly six hours to get home, so I'm not too worried about crashing (on a one-hour helicopter tour)," he said.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com, Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com and Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.