A tourist helicopter disappeared in Hawaii: there were children among the passengers

US Coast Guard units are looking for a tourist helicopter that has not returned from a flight to Hawaii. Onboard there were 7 people, two of them - children. Writes about it The Washington Post.

Фото: Depositphotos

The travel agency notified the Coast Guard when the helicopter did not return, according to the schedule, at 17:20 after sightseeing off the coast of Napali-Kauai. This was stated by junior security officer Robert Cox.

A helicopter with one pilot and six passengers on board has an electronic locator, but no radar can detect it. The Coast Guard boat and helicopter were sent out in search of the assistance of a US Navy helicopter squadron.

“The weather is tough,” Cox said. - Rain and clouds limit visibility to four miles (6,4 km). It is expected that on December 27 the weather will not improve, there will be rain and wind gusts, which will only exacerbate the search. ”

Kauai, an island northwest of Oahu, is surrounded by high mountains and rugged cliffs, which served as the backdrop for the movie Jurassic Park, including the Manavayopuna Waterfall. It is captured in the first film, and now the waterfall has become the main tourist destination.

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Rough vegetation will be a problem if the search moves to the ground. The island is 80% uninhabited. Most of the terrain is a park or reserve, surrounded by cliffs, gorges and forests. There are several internal roads. Waimea Canyon, located in a nature reserve off the coast, is so vast that it is called the "Great Canyon of the Pacific Ocean."

Lawmakers are monitoring tightening control over Hawaii's air tours after a series of deadly incidents. Three people died when a tourist helicopter crashed on the Oahu Highway in April, and a commercial helicopter crashed in June, killing 11 people.

Rep. Ed Keyes, a Hawaiian Democrat, introduced a bill in August that would “impose strict rules on commercial travel operations,” including helicopter rides. Among other things, the proposed Cays bill would forbid helicopter pilots to act as narrator guides during the flight.

“These tragedies occurred amid a rapid increase in the number of commercial flights of small planes and helicopters in all parts of the Hawaiian Islands,” Case said.

These tours are beneficial to the economy, advocates say. According to estimates by the Hawaiian Helicopter Association, air carriers annually contribute nearly $ 150 million to the state economy.

“Safe operations and the rules that ensure the safety of these operations must take into account geography, weather, even cloud cover, special equipment and air traffic control,” the association said in September.

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