Skydiving company behind deadly Hawaii plane crash lacked proper permits, documents show

Kristin Lam

The company operating a skydiving plane that crashed and killed 11 people last month in Hawaii did not have proper permits for skydiving, according to documents released by the state on Wednesday.

Oahu Parachute Center was "not in good standing" with Hawaii's Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs two months prior to the nation's deadliest civil aviation accident since 2011, the documents show.

Officials sent the company a permit application for skydiving operations in April and requested the plane's airworthiness documents along with nearly $30,000 in fees.

The company was not a registered tenant for the state land it occupied, either. The owner had a 2010 permit that allowed parachute repairs and rigging, but it was for a company under a different name.

'Accidents continue to happen': Fatal Hawaii skydiving plane crash renews NTSB's call for stricter rules

Also this week, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary accident report of the crash that killed all 11 people aboard.

In this June 22, 2019 file photo, the charred remains of a skydiving plane that crash on Oahu's North Shore are shown near Waialua, Hawaii. The skydiving company that was operating a plane that crashed and killed 11 people last month did not have the proper state permits to take people skydiving.
In this June 22, 2019 file photo, the charred remains of a skydiving plane that crash on Oahu's North Shore are shown near Waialua, Hawaii. The skydiving company that was operating a plane that crashed and killed 11 people last month did not have the proper state permits to take people skydiving.

The aircraft collided with the ground after takeoff from Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia on June 21. The evening flight was the fourth of five parachute jump flights scheduled for the day, according to the report. Two solo jumpers reportedly joined the flight at the last minute.

Safety board records show the aircraft was involved in a midair accident in northern California in 2016. It stalled three times and spun another three during a skydiving flight, forcing 14 skydivers to jump to safety.

The agency previously said it planned to review the plane's repair and inspection records from the accident. The preliminary report did not discuss such a review, noting most of the plane was destroyed by flames.

Hawaii evicted the company from state land five days after the crash, citing law violations. It also revoked the 2010 permit.

Oahu Parachute Center expressed its condolences to the crash victims on its website.

"There are no words to describe the overwhelming heart break that we are all enduring," the website reads. "We are in full cooperation with HPD, the FAA, and the NTSB in hopes that we discover what led to this terrible event."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii skydiving plane crash: Company lacked proper permits, state says