Close X
Wednesday, September 25, 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

    Squirrel Knocks Out Power For 5,400 Customers In Halifax Neighbourhood

    Squirrel Knocks Out Power For 5,400 Customers In Halifax Neighbourhood
      Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman Bev Ware says a squirrel scaled a transformer in a substation in the Hammonds Plains area just before 5 p.m. Thursday.

    Squirrel Knocks Out Power For 5,400 Customers In Halifax Neighbourhood

    Ontario Recruits Jail Guards Amid What Critics Call A Crisis In Corrections

    Ontario Recruits Jail Guards Amid What Critics Call A Crisis In Corrections
    TORONTO — Ontario is recruiting 180 new correctional officers, in the midst of what critics are calling a crisis in corrections.

    Ontario Recruits Jail Guards Amid What Critics Call A Crisis In Corrections

    New Bus Service For Ferry Passengers As Vancouver-To-Victoria Line Changes Hands

    New Bus Service For Ferry Passengers As Vancouver-To-Victoria Line Changes Hands
    BC Ferries says that as of Feb. 1, The Wilson's Group will operate regularly scheduled service via the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route on three sailings each day.

    New Bus Service For Ferry Passengers As Vancouver-To-Victoria Line Changes Hands

    Quebec Sweating Death From 2011: Three People Getting Jail Time

    Quebec Sweating Death From 2011: Three People Getting Jail Time
    Chantal Lavigne was rushed to hospital in serious condition in July 2011 along with another woman who was suffering from serious vomiting at the farmhouse spa.

    Quebec Sweating Death From 2011: Three People Getting Jail Time

    Surrey RCMP Seek More Victims After 2 Men Charged With Sexual Interference Involving Teen Girls

    Surrey RCMP Seek More Victims After 2 Men Charged With Sexual Interference Involving Teen Girls
    Surrey RCMP is requesting the public’s assistance to identify other potential witnesses and/or victims in order to advance an ongoing sexual interference investigation.

    Surrey RCMP Seek More Victims After 2 Men Charged With Sexual Interference Involving Teen Girls

    B.C. Teacher Disciplined For Repeatedly Calling Muslim Student 'Taliban'

    B.C. Teacher Disciplined For Repeatedly Calling Muslim Student 'Taliban'
    A ruling from the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation says Sooke Grade 11 math teacher Matthew Pell repeatedly singled out the student in the fall of 2014.

    B.C. Teacher Disciplined For Repeatedly Calling Muslim Student 'Taliban'