Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday began their probe into fatal crash of a single-engine plane on Maui that killed two adults and two children. The pilot of the plane was identified
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday began their probe into fatal crash of a single-engine plane on Maui that killed two adults and two children.
The pilot of the plane was identified as Steve Betsill of Maui. Betsill and three of his brothers co-own Betsill Brothers Construction Inc. on Maui.
Princeville resident Ian Miles, a North Shore contractor who worked with the Betsills on Maui, remembered Betsill as “a really nice guy, who had four children himself.”
He said Betsill and members of his family lived on Kaua’i following Hurricane ‘Iniki. The group served as contractors for hurricane rebuilding projects in various towns on Kaua’i, and lived at Princeville. They later fixed up a home for their family at Anini Beach.
Miles said the Betsill family have built up one of the largest construction companies on Maui, performing a wide variety of work including government contracts and homes.
Duane Betsill, Betsill’s brother, is a minister, as well as a builder, and visits Kaua’i to speak at the Lighthouse Church at Kilauea, Miles said.
Search crews on Monday located the wreckage of Betsill’s Cessna Cardinal 177. The plane was reported missing since Saturday. Four people died in the crash.
The plane was found nose down in rural Nahiku, about 200 yards on the mountain side of the Hana Highway, police said. A final determination of the cause of the crash is not expected for several months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
