Five Walk Away After Gippsland GA-8 Plane Comes Down In Waimea Field

Emergency crews reached a Gippsland GA-8 that came down in a field near Menehune Road in Waimea at about 9 a.m. Friday, the FAA reported. Kauaʻi Fire Chief Michael Gibson said the fixed-wing aircraft landed in rocky terrain on private property belonging the Robinson family.

Five people were on board and got out of the aircraft on their own. Gibson said it appeared to be a tour flight with one pilot and four passengers. He said the pilot reported an engine popping noise and looked for a place to set the plane down.

One person with non-life-threatening injuries was airlifted to a landing zone, then taken by ambulance to a hospital. Gibson said the aircraft did not catch fire or leak fuel, and crews secured the site for federal investigators. "We are just very relieved that nobody was tragically hurt," Gibson said. "As far as we know, the pilot reacted calmly and here we have it, five people are able to go on with their lives and the worst did not happen."

Responders included personnel from the Waimea and Hanapepe fire stations, Rescue 3, Air 1, an on-duty battalion chief, American Medical Response, Līhuʻe Airport Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, the Kauaʻi Police Department, and private landowners. Gibson said the site sits on the Hanapepe side of the river with no paved roads, so ground crews reached it through dirt roads and across private land.

By the time crews arrived, all five occupants were standing a great distance from where the aircraft went down, Gibson said.