Search for pilot, passenger suspended after helicopter crashes on Hawaii’s Kauai island tour

LIHUE, Hawaii — Authorities have suspended the search for a tour helicopter pilot and one of his passengers after they crashed into the ocean off the Hawaiian island of Kauai last week.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Kauai officials said they suspended the search Sunday after searching hundreds of square miles for about 60 hours.

The Robinson R44 helicopter, from Ali’i Kauai Air Tours & Charters, was carrying the pilot and two passengers, a couple from Kentucky.

A hiker on the Kalalau Trail reported seeing the helicopter crash into the water about a quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) off the Na Pali coast Thursday afternoon and contacted firefighters, officials said.

Lifeguards on personal watercraft recovered one person’s body Thursday while crews searched for the other two. They also saw what appeared to be an oil slick on the water, along with several small pieces of floating debris, officials said.

It was the latest in a series of accidents that have plagued the air tour industry in recent years.

In announcing the suspension of the search on Sunday, authorities identified the missing pilot as local resident Guy Croydon, 69, and the missing passenger as James Quintua, 60. The passenger who recovered from the crash was 53-year-old Amy Nichole Ruark Quintua.

The Quintuas were from Union, Kentucky, Kauai officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.