Close X
Monday, September 30, 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

    Valiant US Sikh Store-Owner, 59, Fights Off Armed Robber With Only Slipper

    Valiant US Sikh Store-Owner, 59, Fights Off Armed Robber With Only Slipper
    In a feat caught on surveillance cameras, the 59-year-old Amrik Singh fought off a shotgun-wielding masked robber using only his slipper in the store at his petrol station in Staatsburg, about 150 km from New York City.

    Valiant US Sikh Store-Owner, 59, Fights Off Armed Robber With Only Slipper

    Police Seek Cheetah Spotted Along Southeast B.C. Highway 3A Near Creston

    Police Seek Cheetah Spotted Along Southeast B.C. Highway 3A Near Creston
    RCMP in Creston said the cheetah was spotted along Highway 3A on Thursday at about 4:30 p.m. in the Crawford Bay and Kootenay Bay areas.

    Police Seek Cheetah Spotted Along Southeast B.C. Highway 3A Near Creston

    One Flat Fee Real Estate Donates $1,500 To The BC Children’s Hospital

    One Flat Fee Real Estate Donates $1,500 To The BC Children’s Hospital
    Oneflatfee, the largest flat fee MLS service in western Canadadonated $ 1,500 to the BC Children’s hospital on December 15th

    One Flat Fee Real Estate Donates $1,500 To The BC Children’s Hospital

    Justin Trudeau Makes First Prime Ministerial Trip To Vancouver City Hall Since 1973

    Justin Trudeau Makes First Prime Ministerial Trip To Vancouver City Hall Since 1973
    He spent the morning meeting with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson as the two discussed issues such as infrastructure, affordable housing and climate change.

    Justin Trudeau Makes First Prime Ministerial Trip To Vancouver City Hall Since 1973

    Ivan Henry Wrongful-Imprisonment Case About Risks Of Self-Representation: Crown

    John Hunter says 69-year-old Ivan Henry should bear some responsibility for his conviction after repeatedly refusing legal counsel during his 1982 sexual-assault trial.

    Ivan Henry Wrongful-Imprisonment Case About Risks Of Self-Representation: Crown

    Rohinie Bisesar, Indian-Origin Woman Stabs Shoppers Drug Mart Employee To Death In Toronto

    Rohinie Bisesar, Indian-Origin Woman Stabs Shoppers Drug Mart Employee To Death In Toronto
    Rohinie Bisesar stabbed the victim at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto's financial district last Friday.

    Rohinie Bisesar, Indian-Origin Woman Stabs Shoppers Drug Mart Employee To Death In Toronto