Coast Guard crash kills 3; 1 missing

A search is continuing off Honolulu for a fourth crewmember

STORY SUMMARY » | READ THE FULL STORY

Three crew members of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter were killed and one was missing after the chopper crashed into the ocean about five miles south of Honolulu Airport last night.

HH-65C DOLPHIN HELICOPTER » Length: 44 feet » Maximum gross weight: 9,480 pounds » Engines: 2 » Maximum speed: 175 knots » Maximum range: 345 miles » Crew: 2 pilots, 2 flight crew » Manufacturer: American Eurocopter, Ltd. Source: U.S. Coast Guard

A massive search that included crews from the Coast Guard and the Honolulu Fire Department continued today for the missing crew member.

The Coast Guard identified the three crew members who died as co-pilot Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, 44, rescue swimmer Petty Officer 1st Class David Skimin, 38, and flight mechanic Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, 27. The name of the missing crew member was not released.

The HH-65C Dolphin helicopter went down about 8:15 p.m. during a rescue training mission with a 47-foot Coast Guard boat, the Coast Guard said.

The crew of an Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo plane saw the chopper go down and circled the crash site until rescue crews arrived.

The three identified crew members were found in the water at the crash site and were flown to the Queen's Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

"Our hearts go out to their loved ones during this difficult time," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen from Washington, D.C., in an e-mail message to all service members.

"The entire Coast Guard will provide whatever support services are necessary for the families and crew of Air Station Barbers Point."

LOST AT SEA The search continued today for a crewman of a Coast Guard HH-65C rescue helicopter that crashed into the ocean about five miles south of Honolulu Airport during a training mission last night. Three other crewmembers were killed in the crash.

---

FULL STORY »

Three crewmembers of a Coast Guard helicopter died after their 44-foot aircraft crashed into waters off Honolulu last night during search and rescue drills.

The search continued today for a fourth crew member who has been missing since the bright orange HH-65C Dolphin crashed five miles south of Honolulu Airport.

The Coast Guard identified the three crew members who died as: co-pilot Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., rescue swimmer Petty Officer 1st Class David Skimin, of San Bernadino, Calif., and flight mechanic Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, of Gloucester, Va.

"Our hearts go out to their loved ones during this difficult time," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen from Washington, D.C., in an e-mail message to all service members. "The entire Coast Guard will provide whatever support services are necessary for the families and crew of Air Station Barbers Point."

"We grieve for our lost Coast Guardsmen and continue a diligent search for our missing aviator," said Rear Adm. Manson K. Brown, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District, headquartered here. "Coast Guard missions - even training missions - are inherently dangerous, and this aircrew was performing a drill in the weather conditions we are called into when we rescue others. It's a terrible loss."

The Coast Guard 110-foot patrol boat Kiska and aircrews on a C-130 Hercules cargo plane and another HH-65C Dolphin from the Coast Guard's Barbers Point Air Station continued the search last night and today. The Honolulu Fire Department had two helicopters and two boats assisting in the search today.

The Coast Guard described the weather conditions at the time of the 8:15 p.m. crash as "favorable." The tradewinds were coming from the east at 11 to 17 mph and seas were 6 to 8 feet.

The Dolphin and its four-man crew - pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and rescue swimmer - were conducting search and rescue drills with a 47-foot Coast Guard boat when the crash occurred.

Rescuers arrived at the crash site about 8:45 p.m. and found three crewmembers. They were taken by Coast Guard rescue helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

An inbound Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo jet witnessed the crash and circled the site until a fire department rescue boat arrived at the scene.

The Coast Guard was notified of the accident by the Federal Aviation Administration at 8:15 p.m.

Manufactured by Aerospatiale, the HH-65C is 13 feet high and 44 feet long and is not capable of water landings.

The most recent Coast Guard helicopter accident in Hawaii occurred on Jan. 7, 1982, when an HH-52 Sea Guard crashed into the cliffs of Molokai during a rescue mission in bad weather. The crash killed three people, including the Coast Guard's first female helicopter pilot, Lt. Colleen Cain, 29. The other fatalities were Lt. Cmdr. Horton "Buzz" Johnson, the chief pilot, and Petty Officer 2nd Class David Thompson.

The Coast Guard maintains four Dolphin Charlie model bright orange helicopters at its Barbers Point Air Station and has a cadre of 10 rescue swimmers and 80 pilots.

Two years ago, the Coast Guard undertook a conversion program replacing its second generation or Bravo model of the HH-65B helicopter because of safety issues. At the time the Coast Guard had said that there were 174 power losses in 2004 compared with 55 in the previous three years.

The Coast Guard said then that power losses meant that one of the two helicopter's engines failed in flight. That happened at least once with one of the four Bravo HH-65 helicopters that had been assigned to Barbers Point, but it never occurred during a rescue mission.

The upgrade of the agency's 95 helicopters was included in its Deepwater Programs at a cost of $355 million. The changes amounted to $3.7 million for each HH-65C version.

Unlike the older choppers, the new models can land directly on the helipad atop the Queen's Medical Center.