Helicopter Crashes Off Hawaii Coast, Leaving 1 Dead and 2 Missing

A helicopter operated by a tour company crashed in waters off the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Thursday afternoon, killing at least one person and setting off search operations for two others who were missing, according to the local authorities.

The crash was reported around 1:20 p.m., about a quarter of a mile off the island’s northern shore, near the Hanakoa Valley along the Na Pali Coast. One of the three people who had been on the helicopter was found and confirmed dead about an hour later, the Kauai Police Department said in a statement.

The identities of the people on board were not immediately available. The helicopter was operated by Ali’i Kauai Air Tours and Charters, according to the police.

Hikers on the nearby Kalalau Trail reported seeing the helicopter crash into the water, the police statement said. On Thursday morning, the National Weather Service in Honolulu had forecast strong trade winds and abundant patches of low clouds for most of Hawaii.

The U.S. Coast Guard, the Kauai Fire Department, the Kauai Police Department and other agencies were involved in search and recovery efforts. The operation was paused at sundown, but the Coast Guard will continue searching overnight, the authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, an F.A.A. spokesman said.

The tour company, based in Lihue, Kauai, did not respond to a request for comment. On its website, it described private one-hour tours that include views of the Na Pali coastline and the island’s towering sea cliffs.

The last fatal tourist helicopter crash in Hawaii, in 2019, was also off Kauai, near Kekaha, according to the transportation safety board’s database. The pilot and six passengers were killed. The board concluded that the pilot had chosen to continue a tour in deteriorating weather and lost sight of the terrain before the crash.