As cars rush past homes and a private driveway on the 700 block of Oneawa Street in Kailua, one might never know it was the site of a deadly helicopter crash in April.

But residents there have not forgotten, and neither has the Kailua Neighborhood Board, which formed a new subcommittee to address the risks of low-flying tour helicopters above homes in the area.

The focus, according to board member Claudine Tomasa, is keeping the Kailua community safe in the wake of an April 29 helicopter crash that killed all three on board, including the pilot and two passengers.

“That incident made us look at it as a serious situation, not only due to complaints about noise but this time as a public safety issue that could have caused much more serious damage to the people living below,” said Tomasa, chairwoman of the board’s Public Safety, Public Health &Civil Defense Committee.

Besides making sure the Federal Aviation Administration follows through on enforcement of existing flight rules, Tomasa said the group wants to work with pilots to voluntarily change flight patterns to avoid densely populated areas.

The subcommittee members represent a cross- section of the community, including residents, pilots who live in the area and representatives of the Hawaii Helicopter Association.

At its inaugural July 9 meeting, the subcommittee listened to a lengthy discussion between residents and Hawaii Helicopter Association representatives who included Nicole Vandelaar, owner of Novictor Helicopters, the company that operated the Robinson R44 that was involved in the crash.

Tomasa said the subcommittee intends to continue its dialogue with the helicopter group about alternate flight patterns over populated areas of Kailua. Concurrently, the neighborhood board is working with Hawaii’s congressional representatives on FAA regulations and compliance.

The end goal is to propose a resolution that will be presented to U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Tulsi Gabbard.

The subcommittee’s next meeting is 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Kailua Recreation Center.

Bill Hicks, chairman of the Kailua Neighborhood Board, noted there were three helicopter crashes on the windward side within a six-month span.

Following the April 29 helicopter crash, the board at its May 2 meeting unanimously passed a motion endorsing a request by four area state senators to immediately ground tour flights until an investigation is completed and asking that helicopters not fly over Kailua.

“We sent a letter to the FAA indicating what we were requesting,” said Hicks. “That was done in the immediate aftermath of the crash.”

The helicopters were not grounded, however. The FAA, which has jurisdiction over flight regulations, responded to letters from Case but has made no changes.

Hicks noted that in New York, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer successfully pushed for a new rule restricting routes of multiple-engine helicopters flying over Long Island’s North Shore.

Now Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are urging the FAA administrator nominee to hear the longtime noise concerns of Long Island residents and reconsider helicopter routes.

Keolu Hills resident Ricky Bermudez said he has repeatedly asked helicopter tour companies to alter their flight paths to no avail. He tracks the helicopters daily on the live FlightRadar24 app, which details flight altitudes and paths and what helicopters are flying.

Bermudez supports a no-fly zone around the Kailua community.

“This is an issue I deal with and call every day about,” he said. “We’re trying to create a safety net around our community and it hasn’t been addressed properly for a whole year. I’ve been pretty persistent about creating the no-fly zone around our area and I’ve been getting resistance from the FAA, the state and also from commercial tour operators.”

Richard Schuman, president of a company offering Magnum Helicopters tours, said it would be unrealistic to expect companies to alter their flight paths as long as FAA regulations do not require it.

Schuman, a Kailua resident and helicopter association member, said tour companies might be open to not flying over Kailua Town, which most don’t do anyway, restricting flights to certain hours, such as from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and not flying on holidays.

But the tours often fly around Makapuu and over Waimanalo, continuing on to Hamakua Marsh and over Kailua, Maunawili or Aikahi before returning to Honolulu.

In Hawaii, tour helicopters are generally required to maintain an altitude of 1,500 feet over populated areas, including man-made structures and vehicles, but qualified pilots may deviate from that requirement to avoid adverse weather conditions.

The Hawaii Air Tour Common Procedures Manual includes maps of the isles — some of which are outdated — with highlighted yellow areas where helicopters can fly at 500 feet above ground level. On densely populated Oahu, very few yellow areas exist. Razorback ridges may be crossed by helicopters at no less than 200 feet above ground level.

The FAA is currently collaborating with the Hawaii Helicopter Association to update the manual.

Helicopter pilots generally like to fly at higher altitudes to give passengers a panoramic view, according to Schuman. But flying out of Honolulu, helicopter pilots are instructed by air traffic controllers to stay at about 500 feet until they reach Magic Island, he said.

In the initial weeks following the Oneawa Street helicopter crash, Magnum Helicopters altered its route to fly behind Olomana and over the Maunawili neighborhood to avoid the Kailua and Enchanted Lake neighborhoods. But Maunawili residents complained and now Magnum has gone back to flying over Kailua and Enchanted Lake.

Hicks said he believes the subcommittee and helicopter tour operators could probably work out a solution sooner than federal regulations can be tightened.

“That’s something that could happen more quickly,” he said.