KAILUA-KONA — An extensive multiagency and multinational effort saved the lives of two people in a small aircraft that crashed Thursday afternoon off the Kona Coast.
KAILUA-KONA — An extensive multiagency and multinational effort saved the lives of two people in a small aircraft that crashed Thursday afternoon off the Kona Coast.
David Jerry McMahon, 26, of Oahu, was piloting the five-seat, twin-engine Piper Apache with Sydnie Uemoto, 22, of Honolulu, formerly of the Kona area, when they reported an in-flight emergency at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
The Coast Guard reported the pilot said there was an engine problem with the plane before the pair lost contact with ground personnel and disappeared from radar.
Debris was spotted at 8:19 a.m. Friday about 52 miles northwest of Kona. Despite the extensive search that included the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and other agencies, it was a local tour helicopter that spotted the pair in the ocean, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Cooper.
The sighting led to additional units that converged on the area and found the two near each other 9 miles off the coast in the water.
Both were wearing life vests.
“And that probably saved their lives,” Cooper said, adding it was still unclear how they stayed together throughout the night enduring weather that included 10 to 20 mph winds, along with 4- to 7-foot swells.
They were swimming toward shore when spotted, the Coast Guard reported.
A Coast Guard helicopter deployed a rescue swimmer and both were winched aboard at about 11:45 a.m. Friday. From there, they were taken to Kona International Airport where they were met by emergency personnel and family members in a dramatic scene that unfolded shortly before noon.
“I am sorry for making you worry,” Uemoto told her mother.
More family members waited outside a security fence, watching as McMahon and Uemoto were prepared to leave for the hospital. Family inside the fence thanked the flight crews and walked back to relay the good news to other family members waiting on the other side.
“They’re alive, God is good,” one family member called out.
“Coast Guard is the best!” another said.
“It was beautiful to see the mother and daughter reunited,” Cooper said. “It’s very rewarding for us to be a part of this.”
The family quickly packed up and headed to Kona Community Hospital.
McMahon and Uemoto reportedly suffered minor injuries, Coast Guard officials said.
The two were admitted to the hospital and are expected to do well, said Judy Donovan, regional director for marketing with the hospital. They also requested privacy for themselves and their family in a statement regarding media requests.
McMahon and Uemoto are pilots with Mokulele Airlines, with Uemoto having worked there for slightly more than a year and McMahon for about six months.
“There’s no other word than heartbreaking,” said Stephen Fredrick, Mokulele’s chief of safety, about his reaction when he heard the pilots were missing after receiving a call from a controller at Honolulu International Airport.
Hearing they were found alive was just as emotional.
“We just want to say thank you for everyone who sent in their thoughts and prayers,” Fredrick said, thanking the crews who found them and the pilots themselves, who had the sense to make their way to shore.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Center brought in numerous units to begin a sweep when the rescue attempt got underway, including a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3. The U.S. Navy launched a helicopter from the USS Chung-Hoon missile destroyer as two Coast Guard cutters made their way to the area.
Fredrick expects the pilots to be back in service soon.
“They’re professional pilots,” he said. “This is what they love to do.”
Email Graham Milldrum at gmilldrum@westhawaiitoday.com.