Hawaii Plane Crash Site Yields 11 Dead, One a Californian
Emergency crews descended by ropes from helicopters Wednesday to recover the last four bodies from the steep terrain where a tour airplane crashed over the weekend, killing all 11 people aboard.
Delphine Clemenz of Torrance, Calif., was identified Wednesday as one of those on the Scenic Air Tours flight.
The twin-engine Beechcraft was en route Sunday from Hilo Airport on Hawaii to Kahului on the island of Maui when it slammed into the 1,800-foot-high escarpment at the back of remote Waipio Valley.
A team of three from the National Transportation Safety Board was headed for Hawaii Island to meet with officials in charge of the recovery effort, Bruce Butts, operations officer for the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, said.
An NTSB team member said that in addition to examining the crash site the team would investigate crew training procedures and how the tour company selects pilots.
Seven of the dead were removed by helicopter Tuesday and taken to Hilo Hospital, where identification work was under way, Butts said.
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