LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities have suspended the search for a sightseeing helicopter pilot and one of his passengers after they crashed into the ocean off the Hawaiian island of Kauai last week.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Kauai officials said they suspended the search Sunday after searching for about 60 hours across hundreds of square miles.
The Robinson R44 helicopter, operated by Ali’i Kauai Air Tours & Charters, was carrying the pilot and two passengers, a couple from Kentucky.
A hiker on the Kalalau Trail reported seeing the helicopter crash into the water about a quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) from the Na Pali Coast Thursday afternoon and contacted firefighters, authorities said.
On Thursday, rescuers aboard a watercraft recovered the body of one person while crews searched for the other two. They also saw what appeared to be an oil slick on the water, as well as some small floating debris, authorities said.
It is the latest in a series of accidents that have hit the air tourism industry in recent years.
In announcing the suspension of the search Sunday, authorities identified the missing pilot as local resident Guy Croydon, 69, and the missing passenger as James Quintua, 60. The passenger found after the crash was Amy Nichole Ruark Quintua, 53.
The Quintuas were from Union, Kentucky, Kauai authorities said. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating.
