Hawaii Copter Crash Victims Are Recovered

Rescue workers on the steep slopes of a towering green mountainside struggled amid clouds and slippery ferns Thursday in removing four of five bodies from a helicopter crash site. They gave up attempts to recover the last body until today.

One of the crash victims was a woman who authorities said survived the impact for up to six hours on the mountainside Wednesday. She died before she could be evacuated.

The woman spoke with rescue workers before she died, said Kauai County spokeswoman Cyndi Ozaki. She gave no details of what the woman said.

The first three bodies -- none of them formally identified -- were removed early in the day from the rugged area whose nearly vertical slopes and dramatic waterfalls formed a backdrop for parts of the “Jurassic Park” films. The body of the fourth crash victim was taken to Lihue Airport by helicopter late in the afternoon.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board began their investigation on Kauai but were not expected to reach the crash site on Mount Waialeale until today, after all the bodies are removed.

The crash Wednesday of a Bell 206-B Jet Ranger operated by Jack Harter Helicopters killed pilot Mark Lundgren, 45, a former Navy pilot, and two tourist couples whose identities were being withheld by authorities until relatives could be notified.

The last reported communication from Lundgren was at 9:03 a.m. Wednesday, according to Gino Rezzonico, chief FAA investigator for the crash. The pilot reported he was leaving Waialeale Crater and did not report any problem, Rezzonico said. The wreckage was discovered on the crater at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

Jack Harter Helicopters, which officials said had a perfect safety record until the crash, suspended operations, but tourists continued to board helicopters from other tour operations on Kauai. Harter’s flights are scheduled to resume Saturday.

Ten companies fly tour helicopters on Kauai, with more than 100 flights a day.

“The whole site is spectacular. I might do it again tomorrow,” said tourist Kevin Glynn, who had been scheduled for a Jack Harter flight just after Wednesday’s crash. He said the company told him it had been canceled without explanation, so Glynn, 51, of Plymouth, Mass., rebooked with a Safari Air Helicopters tour Thursday.