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Remains of 6 people found after Hawaii helicopter crash

HONOLULU
(AP) — The remains of six people have been found after a helicopter
heading to one of the most rugged and remote coastlines in Hawaii
crashed at the top of a mountain on the island of Kauai, authorities
said.

Officials said Friday that there are no indications of
survivors and that a search for the last person yet to be recovered
would resume in the morning, depending on weather. Those who were
recovered have not been identified and their families are being
notified, authorities said.

A search began for the helicopter
carrying a pilot and six passengers from two families after it was
reported overdue Thursday evening from a tour of Kauai’s Na Pali Coast.
Two passengers are believed to be minors, the Coast Guard said.

Steep terrain, low visibility, choppy seas and rain had complicated the search, the agency said.

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.

A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Safari Helicopters declined to comment and hung up.

According
to a preliminary report, the pilot said the tour was leaving the Waimea
Canyon area, known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” about 4:40
p.m., which was the last contact with the helicopter, Kauai police said.

The
Eurocopter AS350 has an emergency electronic locator transmitter, but
no signals were received. The locator devices are 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, it is possible for the device to 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.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii cited
fatal accidents over the years, blaming the FAA for not taking NTSB
safety improvement efforts seriously and the industry for not regulating
itself. He said “innocent lives are paying the price.”

The FAA
said it conducts random and regular surveillance on all Hawaii air tour
operators and ensures companies address any issues. Gregor said the
agency does not have concerns about the industry statewide.

The
NTSB aviation accident database lists nine crashes of Hawaii helicopter
sightseeing flights in the last 10 years, including three with
fatalities.

After a Hawaii skydiving plane crashed and killed 11
people in June, the NTSB called on the FAA to tighten its regulations
governing parachute operations. The FAA said at the time that it had
made changes to address NTSB recommendations.

The chopper that
crashed this week along a route used by all tour helicopters was found
in a mountainous region inland from the Na Pali Coast, which is one of
the most dramatic and sought-after destinations in Hawaii and was
featured in the film “Jurassic Park.” Towering mountains with deep
ravines and huge waterfalls make up the interior of the uninhabited
state park. Red rock cliffs with thick jungle canopies rise from the
Pacific Ocean to over 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) high.

Ladd Sanger,
a Texas-based aviation attorney and helicopter pilot who has handled
several crash cases involving similar helicopters in Hawaii, said tour
operators on Kauai face unique challenges because of weather and
topography.

Kauai “has microclimates, so the weather at the
airport is going to be different than up at the crash location,” Sanger
said. “Those microclimates can come on very quickly and dissipate
quickly too, so the weather reporting is difficult.”

Hawaii
Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman Dan Dennison, who has
spent years visiting and photographing the area, said winter brings
more rain and turbulent seas.

“You can have very low ceilings. You
can have fog and cloud banks that move in very quickly. You can have
heavy rain and strong winds that make flying difficult if not impossible
at times,” he said.

The shoreline has beaches that could
potentially serve as emergency landing zones, but they are “few and far
between,” Dennison said.

And even the beaches that are there would be a tight spot to land a helicopter.

“Kauai
is incredibly unforgiving terrain,” Sanger said. “If you lose the
engine there’s just really no place to land on the tour route that they
were flying.”

___

Associated Press writer Dan Joling in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.