A Eurocopter AS350 helikopter nona a lawelawe ʻia e Nā Helicopters Safari nalo aku la i ka po nei ma ka mokupuni o Kauai i Hawaii. I kēia kakahiaka, ua loaʻa ka helikopter ma Kokee kokoke i Nualolo.

Eia nō naʻe ke ʻimi nei no nā mea ola. "ʻO ka mea mua loa, ko mākou mau manaʻo a me nā pule me nā ʻohana o kēia poʻe ohua," wahi a ka Meia ʻo Kauai ʻo Derek Kawakami. "Ke hoʻomau nei nā hana a ke hana nei mākou i nā mea āpau i hiki i kēia manawa."

Ua hoʻokumu ka Coast Guard i kahi kia ma luna o Kauai i kā lākou hana pū ʻana me nā ʻoihana ʻē aʻe i ka ʻimi mau nei no kahi helikopter huakaʻi e nalowale ana e lawe ana he 7 mau kānaka - he pailaka a he 6 mau mākaʻikaʻi. Ua ʻōlelo ka Coast Guard 2 mau keiki liʻiliʻi i waena o ka poʻe ohua ma luna o ka chopper.

E alakaʻi mākaʻikaʻi ana ʻo Safari Helicopters ma ke kahakai ʻo Na Pali a ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia e hoʻi i ke kahua mokulele ʻo Lihue ma kahi o 5:30 pm o ka Pōʻahā.

Wahi a ka hōʻike mua, ua hana ka pilina hope loa o ka pailaka ma kahi o 4:40 pm i ka manawa a ka pailaka i hōʻike ai e haʻalele ana lākou i ka moku ʻo Waimea Canyon. ʻOiai he locator uila ka mokulele, ʻaʻole i loaʻa nā hōʻailona ma hope o kēlā manawa.

Ua mālama nā ʻōhua helikopter o ka Coast Guard's Dolphin i 3 mau huli hulina i ka pō holo ma ka ʻaoʻao komohana komohana o Kauai ʻoiai ka poʻe HSM-37 Seahawk e nānā ana i ka ʻaoʻao komohana komohana akau no kekahi mau hola. Hoʻouna pū ʻia nō hoʻi ka mokulele HC-130 o ka Coast Guard, mokulele helikopter MH-65, 45-foot Response Boat Medium, a me William Hart (WPC 1134) i kēia lā e hoʻomaka hou i ka ʻimi ʻana i ka chopper.

ʻO ka US Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 MH-60R Seahawk helikopter limahana a me Civil Air Patrol pū kekahi i kōkua i ka ʻimi ʻana i ka lewa a me ka honua me ke Keʻena Kinai Ahi o Kauai, Keʻena mākaʻi o Kauaʻi, ka ʻĀina o ka ʻāina a me nā kumuwaiwai kūloko, ka Air Guard National Guard, a nā hui helikopter ponoʻī.

ʻO Curt Lofstedt, pelekikena o Island Helicopters Kauai, i ʻōlelo he ʻekolu nā helikopter e kōkua nei i ka ʻimi. Ke ʻimi nei nā helikopter pilikino i nā wahi ma waho o Waimea Canyon, wahi a Lofstedt.

Ke mālama nei ʻo Safari Helicopters i nā huakaʻi ʻike maka ma Kauai mai ka makahiki 1987. Wahi a kāna pūnaewele, hoʻohana ka ʻoihana i nā helikopter AStar 350 B2-7.

He aha e lawe ʻia mai kēia ʻatikala:

The Coast Guard established a command post on Kauai as they collaborated with multiple agencies in the ongoing search for a missing tour helicopter carrying 7 people – a pilot and 6 tourists.
Navy Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 MH-60R Seahawk helicopter crew and Civil Air Patrol also assisted in air and ground searches along with the Kauai Fire Department, Kauai Police Department, state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Air National Guard, and private helicopter companies.
The Coast Guard's Dolphin helicopter crew conducted 3 search patterns throughout the night along the northwest portion of Kauai while the HSM-37 Seahawk crew scanned the northwest shoreline area for several hours.