What happened
On the evening of September 25, 1999, a sightseeing flight operated by Big Island Air ended in a fatal accident on the northeast side of the Mauna Loa volcano. The aircraft, a Piper PA-31-350 registered as N411WL, departed from Keahole-Kona International Airport at approximately 16:22 local time. The flight was being conducted as an on-demand air taxi service under Part 135 regulations.
While the weather conditions at the departure airport were within visual flight rules limits, the aircraft encountered different conditions during its flight. The plane crashed on the slopes of the volcano near Volcano, Hawaii. The impact and a subsequent fire caused the total destruction of the aircraft. There were 10 fatalities recorded, as the pilot and all nine passengers perished in the accident.
Findings
Investigations into the crash revealed that while the flight plan was filed under visual flight rules, the aircraft encountered instrument meteorological conditions near the site of the accident.