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Posted: Monday, November 19th, 2012 8:42 AM HST

NTSB issues report on Maui helicopter crash

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its report on a December 2009 helicopter crash on Maui in which a commercial pilot and a federal inspector were seriously injured. The report of the crash in Hana does not draw any conclusions about what caused the crash. However, it does summarize what the Honolulu Star-Advertiser describes as a routine safety exercise that turned into a life-threatening emergency. A federal magistrate in May ruled that the government was not at fault for the crash of the helicopter owned and operated by Sunshine Helicopters. The company president has said the pilot and the inspector caused the crash by improperly initiating a simulated engine failure during a competency check flight.