What happened
On December 17, 2024, a Cessna 208B operated by Kamaka Air, LLC, was involved in a fatal accident near Honolulu, Hawaii. The flight was being conducted under Part 91 regulations as an instructional flight for a Second-In-Command training program. The crew, consisting of an instructor pilot and a pilot receiving instruction, departed Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (PHNL) at 1514 Hawaii-Aleutian Standard time, bound for Lanai Airport (PHNY).
Following departure from runway 4L, the aircraft was expected to follow the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Shoreline Six departure procedure, which required a runway heading followed by a right turn. However, ADS-B and Spidertracks data indicated that the aircraft, N689KA, began a left turn immediately near the departure end of the runway. During the climb, the Honolulu tower controller contacted the aircraft to confirm if they were turning right; the instructor pilot responded that the aircraft was "out of control."
The aircraft entered a shallow left turn that eventually steepened into a descending, nose-down attitude over an industrial area. The airplane struck an abandoned concrete building approximately 1,975 feet from the end of the runway. The left wing first contacted an air conditioning unit on the roof, followed by a strike against a concrete stairwell. A post-crash fire occurred, destroying much of the wreckage. The two pilots onboard sustained 2 fatal injuries.
The investigation
NTSB investigators from the Alaska Regional Office and a senior aerospace engineer examined the wreckage from December 18-22. The investigation noted that the aircraft's flight control system had multiple broken control cables due to the impact and fire. The engine core of the Pratt and Whitney PT6 turbine engine was located in the main wreckage in front of the cockpit.
While the Aircraft Data Acquisition System (ADAS) was recovered from the cockpit area, its housing was breached and the circuit cards showed thermal damage. Investigators also reviewed various security camera and dash-mounted camera recordings that captured the aircraft's departure and the steepening left turn prior to impact. A detailed study of the archived video recordings by the NTSB vehicle recorders laboratory is pending.