Two victims identified in Kauaʻi helicopter were visitors from Massachusetts; pilot’s status not known

Two of the three people who died in the crash on Thursday of a tour helicopter just offshore of Kalalau Beach along the Nā Pali Coast were identified as 65-year-old Margaret Rimmler and 59-year-old Patrick Haskell, both from Massachusetts.

The third person who died is a 40-year-old woman. Her name was not released due to pending notification of her family, according to Kauaʻi Police Chief Rudy Tai.

The two other people aboard the Airborne Aviation flight suffered injuries and were airlifted to Wilcox Medical Center in Līhuʻe. As of Friday, they were not identified for privacy reasons and remain in the hospital. No information was provided about their conditions, or the status of the pilot.

“This is the absolute worst type of news that we would want to bring to our community,” Kaua’i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said during a press conference on Friday in Līhuʻe.

Tai said preliminary reports indicate the pilot attempted to bring the McDonnell Douglas MD 500 helicopter closer to the shore during the crash, which occurred on the remote beach that is a popular stop for people hiking the Kalalau Trail.

At about 3:45 p.m., Kauaʻi Fire Chief Michael Gibson said the fire department was notified about the crash in waters about 100 yards offshore of the remote beach, and immediately crews from Hanalei Fire Station and Rescue 3 about Air 1 helicopter responded.

Gibson said the rescue crews encountered four patients across the beach and the shoreline. About 10 beachgoers, some who were camping at the site, and surviving passengers were providing care and performing CPR.

Gibson added that Jack Harter Helicopters flew by and helped verify who was in the water.

“They reported that they saw somebody doing CPR on one of the patients that were on the beach” he said.

One person was still trapped inside the helicopter.

Another Airborne Aviation tour helicopter and a Blue Hawaiian each landed helicopters on the beach to provide additional manpower.

“I want to take a moment to recognize the extraordinary efforts that occurred in those first critical minutes,” Gibson said.

Ocean safety officers from the North Ski Team and fire rescue personnel from Air 1 arrived and immediately initiated triage and continued the lifesaving efforts, Gibson said.

It took more than an hour after fire rescue personnel arrived to get the trapped person out of the helicopter, partly because “because the primary efforts were placed on those that were already on the beach,” Gibson said.

By the time rescuers were able to get the trapped person out of the helicopter there was strong surf, with the weather having deteriorated with rain and wind.

Efforts to recover the wreckage were still underway on Friday afternoon.

“We’re hoping to get that out before the end of the day and get it secured for the investigators,” said Doug Froning, director of operations for Airborne Aviation.

“I just first want to say our deepest sympathies go out for the three passengers we lost yesterday and to their families and to the other injured personnel,” he said.

“We got into it because we love flying. Just a pure love for aviation, seeing a beautiful state like Hawaiʻi from the air. And we treat everyone that comes onboard our aircraft like family.”

He said the helicopter company is fully cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigations.

Froning said it is too early to determine the cause of the crash.

“The investigation is just getting started, so anything we’d say up here would just be guessing,” he said.

It is expected that investigators from both federal agencies would be arriving on Kauaʻi on either Friday night or Saturday.

“We have suspended all operations for an indefinite period of time until we’re certain we can continue safely,” Froning said.

Kawakami said “Kalalau Beach is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but it is also one of the most remote. Responding there requires skill, courage, and teamwork.”

He praised the swift action taken by first responders, which also included personnel from the the U.S. Coast Guard, the Kauai Emergency Management Agency, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, American Medical Rescue and county dispatchers.

But when asked if Kauaʻi County should reevaluate tourism flight paths, with multiple deadly crashes in the past two decades, Kawakami said: “That is out of our wheelhouse. That’s an FAA decision.”