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Tour helicopter crashes on Hawaiian island, killing 5


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Tour helicopter crashes on Hawaiian island, killing 5

2011-11-11 17:39:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOLOKAI, HAWAII (BNO NEWS) -- Five people were killed on early Thursday afternoon when a tour helicopter crashed on the island of Molokai in the Hawaiian archipelago, federal officials said on Friday. There were no survivors.

The accident happened at around 12.30 p.m. local time when a Eurocopter crashed on the east end of Molokai near Kilohana Elementary School. "The helicopter was engulfed in flames after crashing," said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The helicopter was conducting an air tour flight for Blue Hawaiian out of Maui, the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands, when the accident happened. "There were five people on board and all were killed," Gregor said. Officials identified the passengers as a newlywed couple from Pennsylvania and two people from Ontario, Canada.

Fire officials said the accident happened during rain and strong winds, which may have contributed to the accident. "The school health aid, whose office is in the back side of the campus, actually saw the helicopter run into the ridgeline behind the school," Richard Stevens, Kilohana Elementary principal, told KHNL-TV.

Blue Hawaiian President Patti Chevalier said the company is "heart-broken" by the tragic events. "We're devastated and we're going to do everything we can to cooperate with the authorities," Chevalier said.

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the cause of the accident. "It typically takes [the] NTSB months to come up with a probable cause for accidents," Gregor said.

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-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-11

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