It happened in broad daylight, right near the reef runway area where thousands of tourists land every single day. On December 17, 2024, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, operated by local cargo carrier Kamaka Air, banked hard left after taking off from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
It shouldn't have done that.
Standard departure for runway 4L requires a right turn. Instead, the plane, registered as N689KA, began a shallow left turn that quickly turned into something much more violent. Seconds later, the aircraft slammed into an abandoned state-owned building on Aolele Street. The impact was followed by a massive fireball.
The two men on board, 24-year-old Hyram DeFreeze and 26-year-old Preston Kaluhiva, didn't survive. Honestly, the chilling part isn't just the crash itself, but the final radio transmission that crackled over the tower frequency.
"We're out of control here," one of the pilots said.
The Timeline of Kamaka Air Flight 689
Everything about the flight seemed routine until it wasn't. This was a training flight, part of a Second-In-Command program. The instructor was in the left seat, the trainee in the right. They took off at 3:14 p.m.
By 3:15 p.m., they were down.
Witnesses at nearby businesses reported hearing the engine "screaming" and "going fast," which suggests the Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine wasn't the issue. It wasn't a stall in the traditional sense where the engine dies. The plane was flying, it just wasn't being steered.
The NTSB preliminary report (ANC25FA010) paints a grim picture. The left wing clipped an air conditioner unit on the roof of a warehouse before the fuselage struck a concrete stairwell. Because the plane had just been topped off with 160 gallons of fuel, the resulting fire was intense enough to incinerate the flight control cables, making the investigation a nightmare for federal authorities.
Why the "Out of Control" Call Matters
In aviation, "loss of control" is a specific term. It’s different from an engine failure. If the engine quits, you glide. If the controls fail, you're a passenger on a multi-ton projectile.
The NTSB is looking closely at the flight control system. Specifically, there is significant discussion regarding the aileron rigging. The ailerons are the flaps on the back of the wings that let the pilot roll the plane.
If those cables were rigged backward during recent maintenance—a rare but catastrophic error—the plane would roll left when the pilot turned the yoke right. You can imagine the panic. You try to fix a slight left bank by turning right, and the plane banks even harder.
Myths vs. Reality in the Honolulu Crash
There’s been a lot of "hangar talk" and Reddit speculation about what happened. Let’s clear some of that up.
- Myth: The engine stalled.
- Fact: Witnesses and audio suggest the engine was producing high power until impact. The propeller blades found at the scene showed evidence of being under power when they hit the building.
- Myth: The plane was overloaded.
- Fact: It was a training flight with only two people and no cargo. If anything, a Cessna Caravan with no cargo is actually nose-heavy, not tail-heavy.
- Myth: It was a "turn back" attempt gone wrong.
- Fact: While it looked like the pilots were trying to return to the airport, the "out of control" call suggests they weren't choosing the turn. The plane was forcing the turn on them.
The Human Cost and Safety Concerns
Kamaka Air has been a staple in Hawaii since 1993. They fly the "lifeline" cargo to the smaller islands—everything from groceries to medical supplies. But this crash has put their maintenance and training protocols under a microscope.
The two pilots were young, but they weren't novices. The instructor had over 1,700 hours of flight time. These weren't kids playing with a flight simulator; they were professionals dealing with a mechanical nightmare at 400 feet.
Key Evidence the NTSB is Holding
The investigators recovered the Aircraft Data Acquisition System (ADAS). This is basically the "black box" for smaller planes. Even though the housing was scorched and the circuit cards took heat damage, there’s hope that data can be extracted to see exactly what the control surfaces were doing in those final 60 seconds.
What This Means for Hawaii Aviation
If you live on Oahu or fly inter-island, seeing a crash like this is jarring. We’re used to the constant hum of Caravans and Transair planes overhead.
The FAA has already stepped up oversight of Part 135 operators (the category Kamaka falls under) in the islands. They’re looking at maintenance logs and how training flights are conducted over populated industrial areas like Mapunapuna.
For now, the NTSB is being cautious. A final report—the one that actually names a "probable cause"—could take another 12 to 18 months. They have to rule out everything from bird strikes to "uncommanded trim runaway" before they point the finger at maintenance.
Actionable Insights for the Aviation Community
If you're a pilot or someone interested in air safety, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding this incident.
- Check the "Box": If you are flying an aircraft that just came out of maintenance involving control cables, perform a "box check" on the ground. Verify that a left turn on the yoke actually results in the left aileron going up.
- Low Altitude Emergencies: This crash highlights the "dead man's zone"—the few seconds after takeoff where you have no altitude to troubleshoot. If the controls feel "mushy" or "wrong" during the takeoff roll, the best move is almost always to abort before rotation.
- Support Local Safety Initiatives: Organizations like the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) are constantly pushing for better data recording in small turboprops. Supporting these mandates helps investigators find answers faster so other families don't have to wonder "why."
The loss of Preston Kaluhiva and Hyram DeFreeze is a heavy weight on the local community. They were doing their jobs, training to be the next generation of Hawaii’s pilots. The best way to honor them is to ensure the "why" behind their "out of control" call is fully understood and never repeated.
To stay updated on the official findings, you can monitor the NTSB’s CAROL database using the accident number ANC25FA010.