NA PALI COAST — An air and sea search operation for the victims of a helicopter crash continued on Friday, as the U.S. Coast Guard scoured an area off the Na Pali Coast looking for two of three people who were aboard the chopper.
The Coast Guard searched the area with an HC-130 Super Hercules airplane crew, as well as a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, said Commander Kristen Hahn of Coast Guard Sector Honolulu at a press briefing on Friday afternoon at the Kaua‘i Police Department in Lihu‘e.
A 45-foot response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Kaua‘i was also on scene, as well as Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak.
“This has been a very effective and well-coordinated search effort,” said Hahn at the press briefing in which she thanked the County of Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i National Guard for their assistance and cooperation.
She said the search for the victims resumed at approximately 6 a.m. Friday with air resources and the boat.
“We are going to continue to remain on scene in this search effort,” Hahn said.
The helicopter went down in an area fronting the Hanakoa Valley, roughly one-quarter mile off the coast, at approximately 1:20 p.m. on Thursday. The helicopter, which was flown by a local pilot, was with Ali‘i Kaua‘i Air Tours and Charters, the Kaua‘i Police Department (KPD) said.
One body was recovered on Thursday afternoon by Ocean Safety Bureau personnel, said Kaua‘i Fire Department Chief Michael Gibson at the press briefing.
The identities of the victims will not be released until next of kin are notified, said KPD Chief Todd Raybuck at the press briefing. The two passengers are believed to be from the mainland.
A hiker on the Kalalau Trail saw the helicopter crash into the water, and then notified the dispatch center via text message.
Local authorities are attempting to contact the hiker in an effort to glean more information about the incident that has rattled the island community.
“Folks, first and foremost, we want (to) offer our sincerest condolences, thoughts and prayers to everybody involved (and) all the family members,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami at the press briefing.
He went on to say that “for a small close knit community these types of occurrences … shake our community to the core. But as mayor, I couldn’t be more thankful for the coordinated effort from our U.S. Coast Guard, our own Kaua‘i County first responder team and to everybody involved.”
