Helicopter Tours

[SwedishMeatball]

We were considering doing this on our Hawaii trip, but a friend just called and said there's been another accident with fatalities. This is the second one in the past couple of weeks. I went online and was amazed to see the number of crashes with people dying on these tours over the past several years. I really never would have suspected it and thought I was being unreasonably fearful. I just don't think I could do it now.

 

[tevagirl]

I'm not going to tell you to do it or not, that has to be your decision, but I went up in one on Maui (dh stayed on the ground) and it was gorgeous!! The pilot wasn't too bad either.

 

[JadenLayne]

John and I have thought about doing it a few times in Orlando and then changed our minds. I don't know if I would do it or not now.

 

[elgerber]

A friend of mine just returned from Hawaii last week, and she was on that very helicopter that crashed, a few days before it did. She is very freaked out. I'm not sure I'd want to do it.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

I'm hoping we'll be satisfied with the gorgeous views we get from the zipline tour we're going on. I'm almost afraid to go check and see if there have ever been fatalities on those.

 

[DMRick]

We did the Jack Harter tour in September. I did it knowing there had been accidents in the past. We loved it. I might hesitate the next time though LOL.

 

[freckles and boo]

My husband and I have a morbid joke that we won't do any tours with German tourists. It seems like a bus full of German tourist careens off a remote mountainside about once a month or so.

 

[escape]

There were two crashes? I thought there was only one. Wow!

I did a tour in Kauai a few years ago from a very reputable company. It was really a lot of fun and I'm glad I did it. Would I do it again. Probably, from the same tour operator. I would be a little nervous, though, with the crashes being so new. However, I think this is a very rare occurence. Please try to keep that in mind.

 

[Honu]

We've done it a couple times, but have stopped. We have a pilot friend that collects helicopters. After he visited the islands a couple years ago he told me he didn't see one operator that he would fly with. Since I know nothing about evaluating helicopters & pilots, I'm following suit.

 

[Nala2007]

Yep I live on Oahu, although the crashes were on Kauai. They were like 3 days apart with the last one being yesterday. They were also 5 miles apart. I believe one person died from yesterdays' and the one a few days ago there were 2 couples, one person from each couple died

So sad...

Here is a link to our local paper

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/12/ln/FP703120352.html

 

[lesroi]

We did it when we were in Hawaii in 2005. I would recommend it, but I think you have to go with a very reputable tour provider. I believe we went with one of the largest providers there. Even so, I suppose it really is a gamble. I was very scared to do it but figured we had come all this way and were on the Big Island for only one day that we really HAD to do it.

Our pilot was absolutely SUPERB and the scenery was, of course, phenominal. I would probably not do it again ("once in a lifetime" was our excuse to spend that kind of money) but I would recommend it if you get the chance.


Tracy

 

[Pam]

I've never done the helicopter ride thing, although my DH and at least one kid has.

DH and I, however, are scheduled to go up in the Goodyear Blimp in the next month or so!!

 

[eclectics]

You'd have to pay me to go on a helicopter tour in Hawaii, or Alaska either, for that matter. Stats will probably prove me wrong, but they both seem to have more than their fair share of tourist crashes.

 

[MoniqueU]

We went on Maui last year and liked it so much that when we got to Kaui we took up my mom and kids. I thought it was just fine. Had a blast and am so glad I did it. I don't know that I will do it again unless I am someplace new that I want to see like the glaciers of alaska but you never know. One place I wouldnt do it is the grand canyon, they have a terrible record of crashes there.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

We are headed to the Grand Canyon in a few weeks and I have a helicopter tour scheduled but I am scared to death and may end up canceling. I thought of letting DH take the kids, but that terrifies me more. I hear it's beautiful but I can't get past the fear either.

 

[Laura]

We did one on the Big Island in 2003 with Blue Hawaiian (an excellent company). I knew that helicopters crash when I made the plans; they don't do it often enough to freak me out. And I figure--if I gotta go, that's the way.

Here's a recent article about beefing up regulations: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Feb/14/ln/FP702140392.html