Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 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

    B.C. Man Charged With Animal Cruelty After Dog's Collar Embedded In Neck

    B.C. Man Charged With Animal Cruelty After Dog's Collar Embedded In Neck
    The SPCA responded to a call last February about a tethered young pit-bull cross in distress on Daniel Elliott's property near Ladysmith, B.C.

    B.C. Man Charged With Animal Cruelty After Dog's Collar Embedded In Neck

    RCMP Credit Horn-honking Homeowner For Halting Thefts In Salmon Arm, B.C.

    RCMP Credit Horn-honking Homeowner For Halting Thefts In Salmon Arm, B.C.
    SALMON ARM , B.C. — A Salmon Arm, B.C., man didn't need a cellphone to call for help as he chased robbers from his home when a lower-tech method proved just as effective, and a lot noisier.

    RCMP Credit Horn-honking Homeowner For Halting Thefts In Salmon Arm, B.C.

    Death Toll Now At 2: Worker Badly Burned In Alberta Oilsands Explosion Dies

    Death Toll Now At 2: Worker Badly Burned In Alberta Oilsands Explosion Dies
    The critically injured man had been transported to the burn unit at an Edmonton hospital, where his family from Nova Scotia stayed by his side.

    Death Toll Now At 2: Worker Badly Burned In Alberta Oilsands Explosion Dies

    Justin Trudeau May Regret Resource Industry Comments Made In Davos: B.C. Mines Minister

    Justin Trudeau May Regret Resource Industry Comments Made In Davos: B.C. Mines Minister
    Bill Bennett says Trudeau may come to regret saying in a speech that Canada amounts to not just the resources under Canadians' feet but rather their resourcefulness and what lies between their ears.

    Justin Trudeau May Regret Resource Industry Comments Made In Davos: B.C. Mines Minister

    Military Reserve Running 19 Per Cent Under Strength As Part-Timers Bail

    Military Reserve Running 19 Per Cent Under Strength As Part-Timers Bail
    The numbers were released in federal departmental performance reports for the last budget year, which also show the military's medical branch has 367 unfilled positions — both uniformed and civilian.

    Military Reserve Running 19 Per Cent Under Strength As Part-Timers Bail

    New Documents Offer Little Insight On UBC President Arvind Gupta's Resignation

    The university has released 861 pages of documents in response to a series of Access to Information requests, including meeting agendas, receipts, emails and the terms of Gupta's resignation.

    New Documents Offer Little Insight On UBC President Arvind Gupta's Resignation