Hard Landing of Small Plane on Molokaʻi Under Review

By Wendy Osher

Federal authorities are looking into the hard landing of a small plane on the island of Molokaʻi on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, officials with the Federal Aviation Administration tell Maui Now.

Allen Kenitzer, a regional public affairs manager with the Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot is accounted for and was not injured. That information was also corroborated by officials with the Maui Fire Department.

In an email communication with Maui Now, Kenitzer said the twin-engine Partenavia-P68 Observer made a hard landing at the private “Panda Airport” at around 9:45 p.m. PST (7:45 p.m. Hawaii Time) on Thursday, Feb. 27.

The airport is located off of Pohakuloa Road in the remote west end of the island.

Kenitzer said that according to local authorities there was only one person aboard the craft. He said the aircraft sustained only minor damage and the incident is pending review by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Kenitzer said the information is preliminary and is subject to change.

We will provide an update when further details become available.

The incident occurred just a day after a fatal small plane crash on the neighboring island of Lānaʻi that killed three people aboard, including the pilot and two Maui Planning Department employees.

Federal authorities with the National Transportation Safety Board are wrapping up their investigation on scene today and are in the process of preparing a preliminary report on the Lānaʻi incident.