KOKE‘E — The remains of six people were recovered Friday after a tour helicopter crashed in a remote area near Napali Coast.
One person remains missing from the tour group, which went out on a Safari Helicopters craft Thursday.
The helicopter wreckage was found Friday morning in the Nu‘alolo area of Koke‘e. Officials say there are no indications of survivors.
The names of the seven people that went missing with the aircraft weren’t released pending notification of family. Still, officials confirmed that onboard the Eurocopter AS350 helicopters were two families and the pilot. Officials said two of the passengers were minors.
“There were two different sets of families, a party of two and a party of four, and that’s all I can tell you right now,” Kauai Fire Department Battalion Chief Sol Kanoho said at a press conference on Friday.
Officials didn’t answer questions about the pilot’s flight history.
The weather may be a factor in the crash, according to officials, but they wouldn’t confirm anything.
“As you know, before this incident, we did experience some very bad weather conditions, and will be following up with additional information,” Kanoho said.
The search for that last person aboard the helicopter was suspended Friday afternoon when dense fog rolled into the search area. Final recovery efforts are expected to resume this morning.
“We are heartbroken by this tragedy, and we continue to ask the public to consider the
sensitive nature of this devastating situation,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all victims during this extremely difficult time.”
The helicopter crashed in the rugged mountain terrain near Nu‘alolo, along the regular tour routes that take visitors on daily trips over Waimea Canyon and the Napali Coast.
Those daily tours are still ongoing while officials search for survivors. However, routes have been adjusted by the Federal Aviation Administration to keep them away from the crash and search sites.
“In the interest of public safety, we did ask the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to have temporary flight restrictions (but) still allow other companies to fly their routes,” Kanoho said.
He also pointed out that rapid weather changes — like the one that halted Friday’s search for the final missing person — are frequent in that area.
The helicopter company, identified as Safari Helicopters, contacted the Coast Guard about 6 p.m. Thursday to say the aircraft was about 30 minutes overdue, authorities said.
According to a preliminary report, the pilot said the tour was leaving the Waimea Canyon area about 4:40 p.m., which was the last contact with the helicopter, Kauai police said.
Upon notification, a multi-agency search was launched Thursday night with the U.S. Coast Guard responding via air and sea, and personnel from the Kauai Fire Department, Kauai Police Department, state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Air National Guard and U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility joining the effort on land.
Search operations continued early Friday morning with air searches conducted by the KFD, KPD, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, Civil Air Patrol, and private helicopter companies. The U.S. Coast Guard also conducted a sea-based search.
Life’s Bridges, a grief-counseling agency, and the Kauai Visitors Bureau are also assisting the victims’ families.
The Eurocopter AS350 has an emergency electronic locator transmitter, but no signals were received. The locator device is designed to activate when an aircraft crashes, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email.
The FAA requires the locators to be able to withstand impact. However, the device can stop working in an extreme crash, Gregor said.
He said the agency is looking at the company’s safety record, but likely won’t have a full report until Monday. It’s investigating along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Officials said NTSB investigators are en route to Kauai.
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Jessica Else, environment reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
