Croman Sikorsky helicopter fatal crash in Hawaii

Obtained on February 25th from Croman Corp's February 23rd Facebook Post

I am a day or so late in posting that on Tuesday, February 23rd a Croman Sikorsky S-61N helicopter on contract with the US Navy crashed at the Pacific Missile Range Facility while doing training exercises. All four occupants were killed. See this article on the Navy Times for a short write up about the crash. 

I would like to thank Bill Gabbert who wrote about this on his Fire Aviation site on February 23rd. I learned of the crash while reading Fire Aviation earlier this morning. Bill's write up is, as always excellent, and you will want to read his article for his in-depth coverage of the crash. According to Bill, Croman had contracts with the U.S. Forest Service in 2020 for five type 1 helicopters.

The deceased are:

• Daniel Lyle, 64, Chief Pilot
• Patrick Radar, 55, Pilot in Command
• Erika Tevez-Valdez, 42, Mechanic
• Matthew Haider, 44, Mechanic

I offer my heartfelt condolances and prayers to the family, colleagues at Croman, and all who loved Daniel, Patrick, Erika, and Matthew. May you rest in peace and fly and always fly in favorable winds.