Aviation assets from the US Coast Guard (USCG) are responding to a tour helicopter crash that occurred on a remote stretch of coastline in the Hawaiian Islands.
Coast Guard Sector Honolulu says it has deployed an Airbus MH-65D Dolphin helicopter and a Lockheed Martin HC-130J Super Hercules search and rescue turboprop to the rugged Napali Coast on the island of Kauai.
Local first responders on Kauai reported the crash of a Robinson R44 tour helicopter at 13:40 local time on 12 July. The four-seat light rotorcraft was operated by the Alii Kauai Air Tours and Charters company out of Lihue airport.
Alii’s website advertises both doors-on and doors-off flights over water, for up to three passengers per group, meaning the flights operate with a single pilot.
The USCG says the R44 that crashed on 12 July was carrying two passengers and one pilot. The rotorcraft went down approximately 400 metres, or one quarter of a mile, offshore.
Aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point on the neighbouring island of Oahu were scrambled in response, along with an unspecified search-and-rescue helicopter from the Kauai Fire Department.
Emergency responders recovered one unresponsive individual from the water, according to the USCG.
The other two individuals from the R44 tour flight remain unaccounted for, with search efforts still underway.
