4 Dead In Helicopter Crash Near Pacific Missile Range Facility

KAUAI COUNTY, HI — Four people died when a military helicopter crashed near the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai County, Hawaii, officials said.

Pacific Missile Range Facility emergency personnel were sent to the crash on the northern area of the installation shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, a spokesman for the facility said in a statement to Patch. The aircraft, a civilian contracted helicopter, was flying in support of a range training operation when it crashed.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The names of the victims weren't immediately released.

The contractor Croman Corporation provides range support services to the facility and was operating the helicopter, the facility told media outlets.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and identified the helicopter as a Sikorsky S-61N. The helicopter was built between 1959 and 1980 by Sikorsky Aircraft, now part of Lockheed Martin. It was designed to carry a substantial freight or passenger payload. One version was built to carry up to 30 passengers, according to the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives website.

Video posted on Facebook showed a plume of black smoke rising above the island. Lindsie Fratus-Thomas, who recorded the video, was on a tour boat when she saw a military helicopter crash straight down. Fellow passengers can be heard saying the aircraft "went sideways" before crashing.

Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands is the world's largest "instrumented multi-environmental range" that can support surface, subsurface, air and space operations, all at the same time, according to the U.S. Navy. The U.S. military tests missile defense technology at the base, according to The Associated Press.

"Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands [is] a premier facility for supporting operations which vary from small, single-unit exercises up to large-scale, multiple-unit battle group scenarios," the Navy wrote on its website.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.