6 Feared Dead In Copter Crash

Rescuers Unable To Reach Crash Site

(AP)  A helicopter showing tourists Kauai Island crashed on a mountainside, and authorities couldn't get to the rugged site to determine if the six people on board, including three Oregonians, were alive or dead.

The craft belonging to Ohana Helicopters took off at 8:30 a.m. Thursday with five passengers and a pilot and was to return within 50 minutes. Ohana reported the AeroStar AF-350 helicopter missing three hours later.

A signal eventually was received from an emergency locator transmitter on the downed helicopter, Coast Guard spokesman David Santos said. The search led to Mount Waialeale, where wreckage was seen at an elevation of 2,300 feet.

Rugged terrain and poor weather kept authorities from reaching the site, but the four adults and two children aboard were feared dead. A Navy crew spotted the wreckage.

"They could see three people motionless on the ground, and they did not believe that they were alive," Coast Guard spokesman Matthew Wheeler said.

Another sighting reported four or five bodies, said Kauai Fire Department Battalion Chief Paul Silva Jr. The search was scheduled to resume at daylight Friday morning.

"We're not giving up hope," Silva said.

The copter's manifest identified the passengers as Pauline Muse, 50, and Rebecca Muse, 9, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; Andrew Yang, 10, of a different Lake Oswego address; and John and Maxine Sipin of Ohio.

The crash site is inaccessible by foot.

"The terrain is extremely rugged; it's extremely steep," said Coast Guard pilot Matt Sisson. "There's heavy undergrowth and trees. It's next to a waterfall that's almost a sheer drop. It's very difficult to get into."

The pilot of the Aerospatiale Astar helicopter was Charles Lowe, a veteran military pilot who retired after 20 years of Navy service, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.

The helicopter belonging to Ohana Helicopters took off around 8:40 a.m. local time. At about 11:30 a.m., Ohana reported the helicopter missing.

Weather was believed to have been a factor in the crash. Mount Waialeale, where more than 440 inches of rain fall each year, is America's wettest spot and it was rainy and foggy at the time of the flight. Kauai is about 100 miles northwest of Oahu, home to Honolulu.

It was the first fatal helicopter crash in Hawaii this year. Last year, three crashes killed four people.