HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Extra particulars are rising concerning the two Kamaka Air pilots who died in Tuesday’s airplane crash close to Daniel Okay. Inouye Worldwide Airport.
Their identities have but to be formally launched, however family members shared their names with Hawaii Information Now: Hiram deFries-Saronitman, 24, and Preston Kaluhiwa, 26.
Each have been licensed business pilots. They have been headed to Lanai on a coaching flight when the airplane crashed right into a vacant constructing.
Family members made their means contained in the Kamaka Air hangar for a non-public vigil Wednesday. Many carried flowers, and a few wore their pilot uniforms.
Kamaka Airways staff inform HNN that Kaluhiwa had a few years of expertise flying with the corporate. Household added that he went to Ohio in 2023 to get a sophisticated pilot license to function multi-engine planes.
deFries-Saronitman was on his final coaching flight after months of coaching.
Kaluhiwa graduated in 2016 from Kamehameha Colleges, the place he was lively in sports activities, like kayaking.
Kamaka Air supervisor Kapahukulaokamamalu Chow went to high school with him on the Kapalama campus.
“He’s at all times been the cool, calm, collected man that he at all times is. He made an ideal pilot,” Chow stated.
deFries-Saronitman graduated from Punahou Faculty, the place he was a soccer participant who performed within the Polynesian Bowl.
Punahou soccer head coach Nate Kia stated, “He was an awesome instance to plenty of younger gamers behind him, and nice help for his teammates. Each weekend we went to battle, and all people remembers that.”
Kia describes deFries-Saronitman as “only a good man and his house was open to all people. His household was terrific, an enormous a part of the Punahou soccer program. However yeah, only a actual heavy time.”
deFries-Saronitman was additionally stated to be a fluent speaker of Olelo Hawaii, and took courses on the College of Hawaii on the facet to review the language.
His longtime girlfriend, Naleo Faurot, advised HNN, “To know him was to like him. He was probably the most kind-hearted, selfless particular person who may carry a smile to anybody’s face.”
deFries-Saronitman and Kaluhiwa have been each killed when their Kamaka Air Cessna 208 Caravan misplaced management and crashed right into a three-story constructing on Aolele Road simply after 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities say the lads had simply taken off from Runway 4L after they reported hassle to the tower.
The air visitors controller advised them to land the cargo airplane wherever they may, however the plane all of a sudden circled and plunged right into a vacant constructing on the sting of the commercial space.
Three Nationwide Transportation Security Board investigators are touring to the accident web site and can doc the positioning and airplane wreckage.
The wreckage will then be moved to a safe facility for additional analysis.
Witnesses to the accident or those that have surveillance video or different data that may very well be related to the investigation are requested to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
Based mostly in Hawaii and based in 1993, Kamaka Air operates as an inter-island airline and logistics firm that gives air cargo providers comparable to constitution service and per-pound service.
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