The Canadian visitors who were among the five killed in a helicopter tour crash on Molokai have been identified as Stuart Robertson and Eva Birgitta Wannersjo of Toronto.
Wannersjo, 47, and Robertson, 50, died Thursday when a tour helicopter crashed in East Molokai.
Their identities had been withheld until Monday afternoon, pending notification of next of kin and an autopsy to confirm their identities.
Others who died in the crash include the pilot, Nathan Cline, 30, of Kihei; and Pittsburgh newlyweds Michael Todd Abel, 25, and his wife, Nicole, 28.
An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board has examined the wreckage at the fiery crash site on a ridge in East Molokai that left parts of the helicopter as scorched heaps of metal.
A Canadian news outlet said Wannersjo and Robertson worked for a defense and aerospace company in Toronto and that former colleagues were devastated by the news.
The five were on a tour from Kahului Airport to West Maui and Molokai.
THE CANADA Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said the Canadian consulate general in San Francisco stands ready to offer assistance as required.
"Our sympathies are with friends and families of those who were killed in this tragic accident," said department spokesman Aliya Mawani.
One resident said heavy squalls were passing through the area before the crash, and another resident said she thought the helicopter sounded like it was trying to make an emergency landing.
The deaths bring to 12 the number of people killed in Blue Hawaiian Helicopter crashes within the past 12 years.
Seven people died in a Blue Hawaiian Helicopters tour crash in Iao Valley in 2000.
Federal officials said the 2000 crash was mainly due to the pilot failing to stay away from cloudy mountainous terrain.
Electrical problem grounds helicopter
A Blue Hawaiian Helicopters aircraft made a precautionary landing Monday afternoon at the Hilo drag strip in Panaewa.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilot made a precautionary landing, not a hard landing, at 2:25 p.m. at the drag strip two miles south of Hilo Airport. The pilot landed the copter because of a reported electrical problem, Gregor said.
None of the six people on the helicopter was injured.
— Star-Advertiser staff
