Close X
Friday, September 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadian Teenager Dies After Pearl Harbor Helicopter Crash

The Canadian Press, 23 Feb, 2016 10:09 AM
    HONOLULU — A 16-year-old passenger died Monday after being injured last week in a Pearl Harbor helicopter crash, hospital officials said.
     
    The teen and three family members visiting from Canada were aboard a tour helicopter when it crashed into the water near the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center on Thursday.
     
    Their names have not been released.
     
    Two family members remain hospitalized in stable condition. Another was treated and released.
     
    "So that the 16-year-old's memory lives on, the family has chosen to donate his organs to patients in need," Gidget Ruscetta, chief operating officer at Pali Momi Medical Center, said in a statement.
     
    No information was available for the pilot, who was taken to another hospital.
     
    Federal agencies are investigating the crash.
     
    The boy was trapped underwater and had to be cut free from his seat, according to witnesses.
     
    Federal records show the helicopter is registered to Jeffrey Gebhard of Kailua, Hawaii. The Navy said the helicopter reportedly belongs to Genesis Aviation. The website for Genesis Helicopters says it was founded by Gebhard and conducts tours over Oahu.
     
     
     
    A call to Gebhard was not answered on Monday. A man who answered at a number listed for him last week declined comment, citing the investigation.
     
    Civilian divers floated the helicopter to the surface Friday and a crane pulled it out. The Navy said the aircraft was taken to Genesis Aviation's hangar at the airport, where the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation.
     
    It was the second major crash this year involving helicopters on Oahu.
     
    Twelve Hawaii-based Marines were killed when two military helicopters crashed during nighttime training on Jan. 14. Both aircraft were CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters that were part of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463.
     
    Shawn Winrich, visiting from Madison, Wisconsin, was taking photos of Pearl Harbor when he saw the helicopter headed toward the popular tourist destination.
     
    He switched to video, recording the helicopter's dramatic drop into the water.
     
    "All of a sudden it essentially just fell out of the sky and crash-landed in the water," he said last week.
     
    He stopped filming and jumped in to help.
     
    The Honolulu Emergency Services Department took the teen to the hospital in critical condition.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Coding On Deck For Grade-School Students As B.C. Unveils New Curriculum

    Coding On Deck For Grade-School Students As B.C. Unveils New Curriculum
    The new program announced today by Premier Christy Clark at the inaugural technology summit in Vancouver will be available for Grades 6 to 9 and will take three years to roll out

    Coding On Deck For Grade-School Students As B.C. Unveils New Curriculum

    RCMP Probe 9-Year-Old's Role In Death Of 7-Year-Old Girl In Nain, Labrador

    RCMP Probe 9-Year-Old's Role In Death Of 7-Year-Old Girl In Nain, Labrador
    RCMP Cpl. Rick Mills says officers were called to the girl's home in the coastal Labrador community on Nov. 27 where she was found dead.

    RCMP Probe 9-Year-Old's Role In Death Of 7-Year-Old Girl In Nain, Labrador

    Alberta Could Face Skilled Labour Shortage Despite Energy Sector Layoffs

    Alberta Could Face Skilled Labour Shortage Despite Energy Sector Layoffs
    BuildForce Canada is projecting a loss of 31,000 construction jobs due to the downturn in the oilsands over the next four years, with many of those people heading to other provinces.

    Alberta Could Face Skilled Labour Shortage Despite Energy Sector Layoffs

    Canadian Centre for Child Protection Receives Hundreds Of Reports Of Sexual Photos On Web

    Canadian Centre for Child Protection Receives Hundreds Of Reports Of Sexual Photos On Web
    Nearly half of the cases, from across Canada, involved teenagers between 15 and 17.

    Canadian Centre for Child Protection Receives Hundreds Of Reports Of Sexual Photos On Web

    Deaths In African Terror Attacks Not Affecting Aid, Company Recruitment

    Deaths In African Terror Attacks Not Affecting Aid, Company Recruitment
    Several relief groups and Canadian mining companies say people interested in relocating to the fraught region of the world typically understand and accept the risks involved.

    Deaths In African Terror Attacks Not Affecting Aid, Company Recruitment

    Prosecution Of Vancouver's Stanley Cup Riot Cost Almost $5 Million

    Prosecution Of Vancouver's Stanley Cup Riot Cost Almost $5 Million
     It cost almost $5 million to process hundreds of people through the justice system after the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver five years ago. 

    Prosecution Of Vancouver's Stanley Cup Riot Cost Almost $5 Million