LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The pilot of a downed Heli USA helicopter was rigorously trained and did nothing out of the ordinary on the day of the crash, the company said yesterday.

Heli USA vice president John Power, concerned about reports that his firm's pilot, Glen Lampton, was inexperienced and made an error in judgment, said the events of the day of the crash suggest that Lampton's flying was not out of the ordinary.

Several helicopter pilots flew into the same thunderstorm system that apparently downed a Heli USA tour helicopter, some flying through it and others turning and escaping the way they came, helicopter operators say.

Three elderly visitors were killed in the Aerospatiale AS350 crash — two drowning and one suffering a heart attack as a result of near-drowning.

Power said the situation was more complex and fluid than early reports have suggested.

"There's a lot more to these stories than we've heard," he said. "I don't think there's anything to hide here. We truly want to know the reason for this accident."

Power said his firm is concerned about reports that Lampton may have been an inexperienced pilot.

"Heli USA goes through rigorous training of pilots," he said. Power said that each of the previous two fatal helicopter crashes on the island involved a veteran pilot flying in cloudy conditions.

Lampton told NTSB officials that he was flying along the north end of the Na Pali Coast when he was forced to veer to avoid an oncoming aircraft, which he described as an MD500. But the owner of that aircraft said there was at least 1,000 feet of vertical separation between Lampton's and his helicopter. Lampton's surviving passengers also said they saw no helicopter near them.

Survivor Karen Thorson said the storm appeared suddenly as the helicopter cruised past the rugged cliffs.

"It was like a solid wall of gray," she told the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News. "If you can imagine the thickest fog you've ever been in, with rain."

Lampton told the NTSB that as he recovered from his veering maneuver, his helicopter flew into the rainstorm, which witnesses said included thunder, lightning and strong winds. Lampton said he tried to turn to fly out of the storm, but National Transportation Safety Board investigators said survivors of the crash described being caught in a downdraft that caused the helicopter to plunge in just a few seconds from an elevation of 2,000 feet to ocean's surface.

Other witnesses said Lampton's Aerospatiale was not the only helicopter to fly into the weather that afternoon.

Ken D'Attilio, a veteran rescue pilot who operates Inter-Island Helicopters, told The Advertiser that at least two aircraft managed to fly through the rainstorm, but that others chose to turn back.

A second Heli USA pilot, Morley Gray, who was flying behind Lampton, said that as he flew along the northern end of the Na Pali Coast, he saw two helicopters that appeared to be flying out of the rainstorm. Powers said one was a Will Squyres Helicopters aircraft and the other an Inter-Island Helicopters Hughes MD500.

Those helicopters at the time may have been conducting a search for Lampton's aircraft, since Lampton had issued several radio "mayday" calls. Gray reported that it was the MD500 pilot that informed him that there had been an emergency call, but that he was running short of fuel and could not stay in the area.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.