A federal aviation accident investigator will be sent to Hawaii to investigate after a tour helicopter crashed on a remote lava field, injuring all six people on board
In this photo provided by the Hawaii County Fire Department is the scene where a helicopter crashed in a Big Island lava field in Hawaii on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Six people on board have been safely evacuated from the site, but two are in serious condition, officials said. Cyrus Johnasen, a public information office for Hawaii County, said it was a tour helicopter with a pilot and five passengers.
The rough lava field is more than a mile from the nearest road, so rescuers had to be taken there by two helicopters, Hawaii County Assistant Fire Chief Darwin Okinaka said. Hawaii has a thriving helicopter tour sector because of the flights that are extremely popular among tourists who want to see the islands’ stunning scenery from the aircraft that fly above rugged terrain that’s hard to reach otherwise.