HONOLULU – The Coast Guard, agency partners and good Samaritans responded to a helicopter crash off Kalalau Beach on Kauai Thursday.
Good Samaritans and Kauai Fire Department crews rescued and medically evacuated two survivors to Wilcox Medical Center in Lihue, Hawaii. The crash left three others deceased.
“We are greatly saddened by the loss of three lives in this helicopter crash and thinking of those individuals’ families and friends,” said Cmdr. Andrew Williams, search and rescue mission coordinator, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. “We are also keeping the survivors in our thoughts as they begin their recovery. We remain grateful for close coordination with our partner agencies throughout this tragic incident.”
Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received a report from Kauai Police Dispatch personnel at approximately 3:50 p.m. of a white helicopter with five people aboard that crash-landed on the sandbar 100 yards off Kalalau Beach.
Watchstanders directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Kauai and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry (WPC 1124).
The Kauai Fire Department responded with an Air 1 helicopter crew and Ocean Safety Bureau officers aboard jet skis from Hanalei Bay. Additional responding agencies include Kauai Police Department, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Kauai Emergency Management Agency and American Medical Response.
The helicopter is reportedly a Hughes OH-6 Cayuse operated by Aviation Airborne.
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