Update: This story has been updated with following a county update Friday afternoon.

Two visitors from Massachusetts were confirmed to be among the victims of a helicopter crash offshore of Kalalau Beach on Kauaʻi Thursday afternoon.

Margaret Rimmler, 65, and Patrick Haskell, 59, both residents of Massachusetts died in the accident, Kauaʻi Police Chief Rudy Tai said, and their next of kin have been notified. The identity of a third victim, a 40-year-old woman, was not released pending notification, he said.

Two other people survived the crash and rescued in what Kauaʻi Fire Chief Mike Gibson described as a “complex and challenging incident” at a remote location on the Nā Pali Coast.

They are both recovering in Wilcox Medical Center, Tai said. He said their identities might be released at a later date.

Doug Froning, the operations manager of Airborne Aviation Tours said that the company was working to secure the wreckage, much of which had been in the water.

Federal aviation investigators were scheduled to arrive in the next 24 hours, Froning said. The company was suspending all flights indefinitely until it was given the all-clear to fly, he said.

Gibson said that in addition to bystanders providing assistance at the scene, two other air tour helicopters had landed on the beach to help recover the victims, one of whom had been trapped in the aircraft after it came down.

Original story:

Multiple agencies responded Thursday afternoon to the scene of a helicopter crash in the waters off Kalalau Beach on Kaua‘i’s remote North Shore.

Three died and two injuries were reported among the four passengers and one pilot aboard the helicopter operated by Airborne Aviation, the county confirmed. The injured were transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital for treatment.

County spokeswoman Meghan Wright said personnel from Kaua’i Emergency Management Agency, the Hanalei fire station, U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Land and Natural Resources were among those dispatched after receiving a text-to-911 message at approximately 3:45 p.m. that a helicopter crashed into the ocean near Kalalau Beach.

“We are greatly saddened by the loss of three lives in this helicopter crash and thinking of those individuals’ families and friends,” said Cmdr. Andrew Williams, search and rescue mission coordinator, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, in a release. “We are also keeping the survivors in our thoughts as they begin their recovery. We remain grateful for close coordination with our partner agencies throughout this tragic incident.” 

Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received a report from Kaua‘i Police Dispatch personnel at approximately 3:50 p.m. of a white helicopter with five people aboard that crash-landed on the sandbar 100 yards off Kalalau Beach, the Coast Guard release says.

Watchstanders directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Kaua‘i and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry, the release says.

The helicopter is reportedly a Hughes OH-6 Cayuse operated by Aviation Airborne, according to the U.S. Coast Guard release.

The Kaua‘i Fire Department responded with an Air 1 helicopter crew and Ocean Safety Bureau officers aboard Jet Skis from Hanalei Bay, the release says.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that it was investigating the crash of the Hughes/MD 500 helicopter, the Associated Press reported.

“They will begin gathering information surrounding the flight and plan to examine the helicopter once it is recovered from the water,” the NTSB said in a statement to AP.

In a statement Friday Airborne Aviation said their immediate priority was supporting the victims, families and team members. The company was fully cooperating with the National Transport Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigators, the statement said.

“At this time, we are working to gather all available information and will provide updates as they
become available. Out of respect for those involved, we will not be releasing additional details
until families have been notified and more facts are confirmed.”

“Safety has always been the foundation of our operations, and we are committed to understanding
exactly what occurred.”

The two most recent fatal helicopter accidents in the state also occurred on Kaua‘i. 

Three people including the pilot died on July 11, 2024 when a helicopter operated by Aloha Helicopter Tours broke up in flight off the Nā Pali Coast. The body of one passenger was never recovered. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined that high winds caused the main rotor blades to strike the airframe. 

In 2019, seven people were killed when the pilot failed to clear a mountain ridge when he lost visibility in poor weather.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the helicopter operating company.

Civil Beat’s reporting on Kauaʻi is supported in part by a grant from the G. N. Wilcox Trust.