PEARL HARBOR, Oahu (AP) — A private helicopter with five people on board crashed Thursday into Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor, leaving a teenage passenger in critical condition, officials said. ADVERTISING PEARL HARBOR, Oahu (AP) — A private helicopter with five people
PEARL HARBOR, Oahu (AP) — A private helicopter with five people on board crashed Thursday into Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor, leaving a teenage passenger in critical condition, officials said.
The Bell 206 aircraft made a hard landing and sank near the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, a popular tourist destination on Oahu, U.S. Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan said.
The names of the five people on board were not immediately released.
“We are told bystanders jumped in to help rescue these patients from the water,” said Shayne Enright, spokeswoman for Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
The helicopter crashed about 20 feet offshore, right next to the visitor center’s lawn, said tourist Justice Winrich. She watched as it “plopped down” into the water.
“I saw it like as it was coming in, and it looked pretty normal. It didn’t look like it was shaking or anything,” Winrich said. “It just started like getting really close this way and started going down.” She thought it was strange that the helicopter was that close to people.
Winrich saw three people get out of the helicopter immediately and start swimming to shore. The Navy said in a statement that the helicopter reportedly belongs to Genesis Aviation. The company website says it conducts helicopter tours of Oahu.
Honolulu paramedics treated the 16-year-old passenger and took him to a hospital in critical condition, Enright said.
A 45-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man were taken to the hospital in stable condition. Details on the two other people on board, including the pilot, weren’t immediately available.
