A helicopter crash Tuesday at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai killed four civilian contractors.
A PMRF spokesman said the Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, one of two contracted by the facility, crashed at about 10 a.m.
The helicopter was operated by Croman Corp., an Oregon-based helicopter company that was supporting a training operation. Croman provides a range of support services to PMRF, officials said.
The names of the crash victims had not been released as of Tuesday night. A Croman representative said the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Navy will investigate the incident, but declined to offer more details.
County police and firefighters responded to the crash scene, with police assisting the Navy with perimeter security and investigation support, according to county spokeswoman Coco Zickos.
Chris Turner, owner and captain of Na Pali Riders, which offers Zodiac inflatable boat tours along the Na Pali Coast, witnessed the crash.
He said the helicopter flew over his tour boat, which was heading back to Kikiaola Harbor, as the aircraft approached the landing area by the military airport at Barking Sands.
“They practically went right over us as they came into the airstrip there before they crashed,” said Turner, who estimated he was less than a third of a mile from the crash site.
He said the weather was clear at the time and that there were no unusual sounds or any other signs the helicopter was in trouble. Turner said he watched the helicopter as it lowered items at the north end of the runway, and when it was about 1,000 feet above the airstrip, it “erratically” made a sharp turn to the right and went nose down at an accelerated rate. The crash generated a large plume of black smoke.
“I was pretty shook,” Turner said. “It shook everybody on the boat. It was quiet on the way back.”
He said the crash happened in a matter of 10 seconds from the time the helicopter flew over the tour boat until impact.
Kauai Mayor Mayor Derek Kawakami issued a statement Tuesday extending “our thoughts and prayers” to those affected by “this heartbreaking tragedy.”
“We offer our partners at PMRF any resources they may need, and we offer the families involved our deepest condolences during this difficult time,” he said.
The Sikorsky S-61N is among a family of helicopters built between 1959 and 1980 by Sikorsky Aircraft, which is now part of Lockheed Martin. It was designed to carry a substantial freight or passenger payload and is commonly used for firefighting and other operations. For example, the helicopters were optimized for use over water to support oil rig operations. Versions of the aircraft also were used by all branches of the U.S. military.
Helicopter crashes around the islands over the years have led to calls for greater oversight and regulation.
In 2019 an Airbus AS350 B2 tour helicopter operated by Safari Helicopters crashed on Kauai’s remote Na Pali Coast, killing seven people. An NTSB report released in 2021 said an unusual weather pattern was present in the area on the day of the crash, and witnesses reported low visibility with fog and rain.
Earlier in 2019 a Robinson R44 tour helicopter operated by Novictor Helicopters crashed in the middle of the Coconut Grove neighborhood in Kailua, killing all three people aboard.
Military air training operations in Hawaii also have a history of turning deadly.
In 2015 a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey crashed at Bellows Beach after sand in a dust cloud entered its engine and caused a malfunction, killing two Marines and injuring 20 other service members.
The Marine Corps later said that errors by the pilots caused the crash. But the military also amended its flight rules for the V-22, advising that pilots should evacuate dust clouds after just 35 seconds instead of the full minute the military previously said the V-22 could safely operate in those conditions.
In 2016 two Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallions collided in midair off Oahu’s North Shore during a night exercise, killing 12. An investigation later found the pilots hadn’t flown enough in the weeks leading up the crash to be proficient, particularly at night.
In 2017 an Army Black Hawk went down in the ocean off Oahu’s Kaena Point during a night flight, killing all five aboard. Army investigators later said the pilots experienced “spatial disorientation,” which is when a pilot can’t determine their position and altitude relative to the terrain, and hit the water with “tremendous force.”
Turner said he thinks the pilot flying over Kauai on Tuesday may have experienced spatial disorientation at the time of the crash. He said the helicopter went straight down at what he estimated was approximately 300-plus mph, noting that the aircraft didn’t appear to have lost power.
“It just went down. It was full speed; it was crazy,” he said. “Something must’ve malfunctioned for him to not know which way was up or down.”
PMRF is one of the world’s largest instrumented, multidimensional testing and training missile ranges. The military uses the facility to test, track and evaluate its latest missile technology, including those launched from ships, submarines, aircraft and land-based systems.
FATAL CRASH ON KAUAI
Four civilian contractors died after a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, operated by Oregon-based company Croman Corp., crashed at around 10 a.m. Tuesday near the airport at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai.
