Pilot and passengers survive Big Island helicopter crash

A pilot and his five passengers walked away from the crash of a tour helicopter at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday in a remote area of the Big Island on the edge of a Puna lava field near Leilani Estates.

Five of the six survivors were treated for apparent minor injuries at Hilo Medical Center.

After receiving a call about the crash at 11:35 a.m., the Hawaii island Fire Department dispatched its helicopter to look for the crash in a remote area near an old geothermal site about 5 miles southwest of Pahoa town.

Everyone was out of the aircraft, a Eurocopter EC-130 operated by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, when fire crews arrived, officials said. They were taken by helicopter to Pahoa Fire Station, where they were evaluated by emergency personnel.

Five of the six people were taken to the Hilo hospital with non-life-threatening injuries for observation and treatment, officials said.

The company issued the following statement:

“On March 5, a Blue Hawaiian aircraft was in flight near the Leilani Estates area when the pilot conducted a precautionary landing. The helicopter had launched from the Hilo base on the ‘Circle of Fire’ tour. The five passengers on board and the pilot are safe.

“The safety of our passengers and pilot are our always top priority, and the pilot’s decision to safely land the aircraft is always the right decision. Local emergency services were called and we have notified the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). We are committed to working closely with both the FAA and NTSB.”

While Blue Hawaiian described the incident as a precautionary landing, fire officials said they found the helicopter lying on its side in an area of tall grass.

Two people who witnessed the crash, from another Blue Hawaiian helicopter that had circled back to the scene, described what appeared to be a much more serious event.

Shortly before the crash about 20 minutes into the tour, the helicopter, which was flying just above the trees, began spinning horizontally, with sparks and smoke coming from the tail, the witnesses said. The craft turned on its side and crashed into trees, they said.

“It was just like the movies, only there wasn’t a big ball of fire, just smoke and a flash,” said Placido Valenciano of Lihue.

Valenciano said his pilot said there was a problem with the aircraft’s rotor.

The passengers of both helicopters underwent a safety briefing together before embarking on the same 50-minute “Circle of Fire” tour at about 11 a.m.

“It was scary,” said a woman from Washington, D.C., who was on the Blue Hawaiian tour with her mother. “It easily could have been us.”

As the second helicopter hovered above the scene for few minutes, the grounded copter was still smoking, and no one had emerged from the craft before they left.

“We were shaken, for sure,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified.

With the Kobe Bryant crash fresh in her mind, the woman said she was hesitant to go on a helicopter tour, but the agent who booked the flight said Blue Hawaiian had a perfect safety record.

“And this happened before our eyes,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever go on a helicopter again.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have investigated a number of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters incidents over the years, including a 2011 crash on Molokai that killed all aboard.

A spokesman for the FAA said the agency would be investigating Thursday’s incident.