4 of 5 bodies recovered

Kaua‘i Fire Department rescuers said yesterday they were unsure when they would be able to get the final victim from the remote Bali Hai Helicopter Tours crash site near Kapalaoa Point.

After pulling two victims out off the remote, steep, slippery cliff face Monday, KFD rescue personnel extracted two other bodies in about two hours yesterday.

But the fifth victim remains trapped under the helicopter’s fuselage, and firefighters said they would not move the debris out of concern for their own safety.

“We don’t want to (move) it anywhere in case it slips. The wreckage itself is on an 80-degree incline” and could slip and hurt KFD personnel, said KFD Capt. Colin Wilson, who was in charge of yesterday’s mission.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families,” Wilson added.

County Public Information Officer Cyndi Mei Ozaki said that the final victim’s remains would be recovered when the salvage operation, to be facilitated by officials with Bali Hai Helicopter Tours and their insurance agency, got under way and the wreckage could be removed from the mountain. County officials would be working with representatives of the insurance company and National Transportation Safety Board officials to expedite the recovery, Ozaki added.

Five victims were involved in the crash, the pilot and two passengers from Ohio and a German couple. It was unclear which victim was still not recovered.

According to other news outlets, friends and family identified the Ohio couple as 36-year-old Thomas J. Huemmer, an attorney from Avon, Ohio, and his girlfriend, 30-year-old Tamara Zytkowski, of Westlake, Ohio.

The families of the two Ohio residents and the pilot had been notified, but Ozaki was unsure whether the German couple’s family had been reached yet. The names of the victims have not been officially released.

The salvage operation will also give investigators a chance to begin their investigation into what caused the crash.

“We can’t even look at the wreckage,” Nicole Charnon, the NTSB investigator at the scene said yesterday. “It may be the end of the week before it is taken off.”

It’s already been almost five days since the helicopter, on a routine 45-minute tour of the island, went down last Friday afternoon. Thanks to poor weather and the remote location, rescuers were only put down on the site Monday.

And, Wilson said, rescuers wouldn’t have made it yesterday if not for the Army and the 68th Medical Company’s Black Hawk medivac helicopter.

“They had pinpoint accuracy,” Wilson said. “We couldn’t have done it without them, no way.”

Tuesday’s rescuers, whom Wilson identified as Fire Apparatus Operator Solomon Kanoho and Fire Rescue Specialists Jeff Weiss and Tim Stokesbary, knew exactly where to go, thanks to the work of Monday’s KFD crew and the Army crew.

Also, contrary to Tuesday’s reports, Army officers were able to locate all five victims by Monday evening.

Monday “was a search. (Tuesday) was a recovery,” Wilson added. “We knew exactly where the two bodies were” Tuesday.

Unlike Monday, when four rescuers were dropped at the site, Tuesday only three rescuers touched ground. Two were dropped in a ravine 130 feet from the crash site, and another was hoisted down to a location close to the fourth victim.

While the air was clear of clouds and rain, the mud and waist-high ferns, coupled with the steep grade, made work painstaking and difficult, Wilson said. Rescuers still had to tie off harnesses on stunted ohia trees for protection.

“It looks really deceiving from the air,” Wilson said. It’s much worse for the rescuers once they hit the ground.

The Black Hawk helicopter actually ferried one rescuer from one site to another to limit the amount of climbing the rescuers accomplished, Wilson continued.

“We were able to get really close and in and out,” Wilson added. “It was awesome” what the Army helicopter could do.

Within two hours of lift-off at 10:40 a.m. yesterday, their work was completed for the day.

Bali Hai Helicopters leaders released a statement yesterday, expressing grief for the victims and thanks to the rescuers, Kauai Hospice, and for the community support.

“On behalf of my family, the Bali Hai staff and myself, I would like to express the immense sorrow that we feel in regard to the tragic accident,” said James V. Le, owner of Bali Hai Helicopter Tours.

“Our prayers and thoughts are constantly focused on those persons who lost their lives,” Le said.

“I can assure their families that we, a small family-owned and operated business, share your grief.

“This is even more profound to us because this is the first and only accident we have ever had since we established our company 18 years ago,” he continued.

The helicopter was reported missing Friday after failing to return from a tour on time, officials said. A crew on a Coast Guard helicopter spotted the crash site Saturday.

The pilot formerly flew with India’s air force, and had flown tours for two months, said Coast Guard Lt. Danny Shaw. The helicopter was about 26 years old, according to the NTSB officials.

Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste, in Japan to promote Kaua‘i abroad, also released a statement yesterday.

“I regret that I cannot say this in person,” Baptiste said. “I express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the helicopter-crash victims, and am truly saddened by this tragedy.

“I understand there has been an outpouring of community support during this period, and for that I am heartened,” he continued. “I would like to thank the fire and rescue crews for their diligence in responding to this incident, as well as the Army’s 68th Medical Company for assisting in the retrieval and the Kauai Hospice for their ongoing support of all involved.”

Kauai Hospice has had numerous volunteers at the staging areas for the past four days, keeping family members completely informed with the latest information without having to be at the scene.

Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.

Associated Press contributed to this report.