The crash happened on Thursday afternoon near Kalalau Beach on Kauai’s Na Pali Coast, where the terrain includes tall seaside cliffs and sharp mountain ridges that can create turbulent air and rapid weather changes, authorities said. The Kauai Fire Department said rescue teams arrived to the remote location to find multiple patients across the beach and shoreline, and they began responding to victims there. Kauai Police Chief Rudy Tai said the crash killed three people and injured two others, and he identified two of the victims as Margaret Rimmler and Patrick Haskell, both from Massachusetts.
The helicopter was a Hughes/MD 500 carrying one pilot and four passengers, according to the Kauai Fire Department. It crashed just off Kalalau Beach on Kauai’s North Shore, an area that is otherwise reachable only by hiking or boat, the department said. Authorities have not released details on the condition of the two surviving passengers.
Tai said notification of next of kin is pending for the third person who died. He declined to provide additional information about the survivors’ conditions.
In a news conference Friday, Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said the island’s tourism economy depends on air tours despite the frequency of fatal accidents. “As long as our island is beautiful, and mankind is born with curiosity, people are going to want to experience this,” Kawakami said.
Kauai Fire Chief Michael Gibson said campers on the beach tried to resuscitate victims. He said rescue teams found “multiple patients across the beach and shoreline,” in the aftermath of the crash.
Federal aviation regulators have previously taken steps aimed at improving oversight for sightseeing flights in Hawaii. The Federal Aviation Administration set up a new process in 2023 for air tour operators in Hawaii that want to fly at lower altitudes, including recommendations for pilot training and qualifications, as well as aircraft equipment, with the agency saying it would thoroughly review each operator’s safety plan before authorizing flights.
The crash adds to a long record of fatal aviation incidents involving tourist flights in Hawaii. The Associated Press reported that at least 16 people have died in helicopter crashes in Hawaii in the past seven years, including two crashes in 2019, and that investigators previously blamed an aggressive takeoff in a 2019 skydiving plane crash that killed 11 people. Investigators found earlier that a July 2024 Kauai tour helicopter crash killed the pilot and two passengers after the aircraft broke up in-flight following turbulence, and the NTSB has also linked past crashes near the Na Pali Coast to turbulent weather and reduced visibility.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash and will examine the helicopter once it is removed from the water. The helicopter was operated by Airborne Aviation, which offers sightseeing tours of Kauai’s canyons, shoreline and waterfalls and advertises a “doors-off thrill seekers adventure tour” that seats up to four people. Airborne Aviation said there have been no tours since the crash and that it was cooperating with investigators, saying in a statement, “Our hearts are with the families and loved ones affected by this devastating event, and we extend our deepest condolences during this incredibly difficult time.”
Sources: This article is based on reporting by the Associated Press. The Aviation safety details, victim identifications, and quotes included here are drawn from the AP story filed March 27, 2026, by Jennifer Sinco Kelleher. Additional context about past Hawaii crash investigations and NTSB examinations is also drawn from that report.