Close X
Thursday, October 3, 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

    Transit Sex Offender Jason Taylor Convicted Of Two More Counts After Coquitlam Women Assaulted

    Transit Sex Offender Jason Taylor Convicted Of Two More Counts After Coquitlam Women Assaulted
    Taylor was seen sexually assaulting a young woman on a bus in Burnaby last May and that a witness contacted the agency

    Transit Sex Offender Jason Taylor Convicted Of Two More Counts After Coquitlam Women Assaulted

    Shooting In Newton: Intended Victims Not Co-operating As Surrey Police Probe Latest Attack

    Shooting In Newton: Intended Victims Not Co-operating As Surrey Police Probe Latest Attack
    Police say witnesses from outside the house reported seeing a man, described as South Asian, wearing a mask and running from the scene.

    Shooting In Newton: Intended Victims Not Co-operating As Surrey Police Probe Latest Attack

    Surrey Man Saleh Mohammed Faces More Than A Dozen Drug, Weapons And Assault Charges

    Surrey Man Saleh Mohammed Faces More Than A Dozen Drug, Weapons And Assault Charges
    Police say when they arrested the man they found an AK47 assault rifle, a handgun and a large amount of cocaine and heroin inside the vehicle.

    Surrey Man Saleh Mohammed Faces More Than A Dozen Drug, Weapons And Assault Charges

    Filming Of Movie On Indo-Canadian Boxer Pardeep Nagra Underway In US

    Filming Of Movie On Indo-Canadian Boxer Pardeep Nagra Underway In US
    The filming of a movie based on the true story of a Sikh boxer, who was barred from the sport as he refused to shave his beard, is underway at a US university.

    Filming Of Movie On Indo-Canadian Boxer Pardeep Nagra Underway In US

    Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Attack On Six-Year-Old Girl On Alberta Reserve

    Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Attack On Six-Year-Old Girl On Alberta Reserve
    People on the Paul First Nation found the girl's partially clad body in the snow a few days before last Christmas.

    Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Attack On Six-Year-Old Girl On Alberta Reserve

    UBC In Damage Control Mode After Failing Sexual Assault Complainants: Alumni

    UBC In Damage Control Mode After Failing Sexual Assault Complainants: Alumni
    Glynnis Kirchmeier, who is planning to launch a human-rights case against UBC, published an open letter to the university's interim president on Tuesday.

    UBC In Damage Control Mode After Failing Sexual Assault Complainants: Alumni