County Chopper Makes Emergency Landing
The county’s “Chopper 1” helicopter suffered engine failure and made an emergency landing Tuesday on the Hamakua Coast near Pololu Valley.
The helicopter was on an evacuation mission in response to Hurricane Iselle at the time, said a Fire Department release.
The Hawaii Fire Department reported no injuries and no damage to the helicopter as a result of the landing.
The US Coast Guard received an emergency signal from the chopper at 12:44 p.m. Tuesday and it was located by a Paradise tour helicopter.
The crews were taken out and a mechanic will assess the aircraft for removal, HFD said.
HFD said it has a “backup helicopter service to continue emergency services,” but provided no further details.