Mauna Loa Helicopters, whose chopper made a hard landing on a downtown street Wednesday and hit an unoccupied car, has had at least three other emergency landings in Hawaii in the past year and a half.

In all four emergency landings, no one was seriously injured, according to authorities.

The hard landing Wednesday took place during a photography tour after the aircraft’s engine stopped at 3,000 feet above Hono­lulu and the pilot was forced to autorotate to slow the descent and land on Fort Street mauka of Beretania Street, said passenger Karl Hedberg.

Hedberg, a commercial photographer, said the pilot, Julia Link, did a good job.

"She’s a great lady," he said. "I’m really thankful."

Federal officials are investigating the cause of the incident.

Mauna Loa operates a helicopter flight training school, and the other three hard landings occurred during training flights — two in Kona and one in Wai­pahu:

» Dec. 7, 2011: A student pilot made a mistake at the throttle at 1,000 feet, and the certified flight instructor made a correction. After landing in Wai­pahu, the pilot noticed the aircraft’s tail boom had separated, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

» May 2, 2012: A Mauna Loa helicopter was substantially damaged in a hard landing near Kailua-Kona after a reported partial loss of engine power. The cause was undetermined, the NTSB said.

» Jan. 30: A hard landing involving a Mauna Loa helicopter occurred in Kona while a pilot was practicing an emergency landing maneuver. The flight instructor had to take the controls to make a correction, and the helicopter landed hard, resulting in structural damage to the tail boom.

In Wednesday’s incident, Hedberg said he had a minor cut on his head, probably from bumping the door frame, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from completing his photography assignment, which he sent off Thursday morning.

He said Link steered the helicopter to avoid moving vehicles and power lines and chose a place to land with little traffic.

"She knew the area," he said. "I feel truly blessed."

Mauna Loa President Benjamin Fouts was unavailable for comment.