38-year-old Tedd Hecklin was pilot in command Wednesday morning when he took off from Kona International Airport with 37-year-old Kathryn Moran from Kailua-Kona on board.
But a tour of the scenic coastline went suddenly wrong. 20 minutes after take-off the powered-glider got into trouble.
"There was no sound of anything, it was them doing a backflip, got caught up in wind and they were going about 30-40mph straight down," says Kamalu Hawelu. She was a crew-member onboard the captain zodiac on a snorkeling tour in Kealakekua Bay.
"I guess the wings went close to the engines and just went down," she says. "Oh I told my captain we need to get over there and captain telling passengers everyone sit down and took me directly over there."
Hawelu and other Crew members dove into the water to reach the aircraft, and pull Hecklin and Moran from the water.
"It happened like in split seconds, no time for them to jump off or do anything."
The powered-glider sank, and both Hecklin and Moran were taken to nearby hospitals where they were pronounced dead.
Hecklin had been flying for a few years and recently moved to Hawaii from Reno, Nevada.
"He liked being able to take someone up and show them the Big Island, show them how the machine controls," said Big Island Pilot Jeff Hoff.
Hoff who had also flown a powered-glider that morning says winds were not a major factor at the time of the crash.
FAA records show the glider was made last year, with no record of any accidents.
"Top of the line wing and top of he line trike, very good equipment," says Hoff.
"I don't like to see things like that happen, he says. "But the element of risk is always there."
Safety investigators with the FAA and NTSB will visit the crash site Thursday morning.
