Official: 3 dead in helicopter crash in Honolulu suburb

HONOLULU — Fire and helicopter parts rained from the sky Monday in Kailua, Oahu, as a tour helicopter crashed, killing all three people aboard, according to officials and witnesses.

Paramedics responding to an unrelated call from a patient with leg pain about 30 yards away heard “a horrific bang,” said Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman for Honolulu Emergency Medical Services. When they turned around, they saw a helicopter on fire.

The crash site was on a two-lane road amid one and two-story homes.

Darel Robinson was doing construction work at a house about a half-mile from the crash site when he heard what sounded like helicopter blades thumping and then a loud boom.

“It was going nose down and parts were starting to fly off,” he said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency thinks three people were on board the four-seat, Robinson R44 aircraft.

He said the circumstances of the crash were unknown.

No further details were available about those killed.

The helicopter, which was built in 2000, is registered to United Helicopter Leasing LLC of Honolulu, according to FAA records.