Close X
Tuesday, October 1, 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

    Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police

    Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police
    Police in Delta, B.C, issued a warning over the weekend after two people used cocaine and inadvertently overdosed on fentanyl. 

    Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police

    Alberta's Suicide Rate Jumps Significantly In First Half Of 2015

    Mara Grunau with the Centre for Suicide Prevention says the numbers jumped 30 per cent in the first half of 2015.

    Alberta's Suicide Rate Jumps Significantly In First Half Of 2015

    Alberta Announces Changes To Farm Safety Bill; Opponents Say Confusion Reigns

    Alberta Announces Changes To Farm Safety Bill; Opponents Say Confusion Reigns
    EDMONTON — Alberta has introduced amendments to clarify that its contentious farm safety bill won't kill the family farm — but opponents say the process is now so muddled the bill should be scrapped.

    Alberta Announces Changes To Farm Safety Bill; Opponents Say Confusion Reigns

    School Briefly On Lockdown After 'Brazen' Gunfire In Surrey Neighbourhood

    School Briefly On Lockdown After 'Brazen' Gunfire In Surrey Neighbourhood
    The Mounties responded to calls of shots fired at a home (near the intersection of 128 St. and 67 Ave) yesterday afternoon

    School Briefly On Lockdown After 'Brazen' Gunfire In Surrey Neighbourhood

    RCMP To Lead New Plan To Intervene In High-Risk Cases In Surrey, B.C.

    RCMP To Lead New Plan To Intervene In High-Risk Cases In Surrey, B.C.
    The meeting would allow members to review cases where a referring agency believes there is a high probability of immediate harm for an individual or family.

    RCMP To Lead New Plan To Intervene In High-Risk Cases In Surrey, B.C.

    Mountie Who Punched Inmate Eight Times In B.C. Jail Gets Conditional Discharge

    Mountie Who Punched Inmate Eight Times In B.C. Jail Gets Conditional Discharge
    NANAIMO, B.C. — A Vancouver Island Mountie who pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm has received a conditional discharge and one year probation.

    Mountie Who Punched Inmate Eight Times In B.C. Jail Gets Conditional Discharge