Emotional scene as pilots rescued

KONA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — An extensive multi-agency and multi-national effort saved the lives of two pilots who crashed Thursday afternoon off the Kona Coast.

David Jerry McMahon, 26, of Oahu, was flying with Sydnie Uemoto, 22, of Honolulu, a native 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 engine problem with the five-seat, twin-engine Piper Apache, before the pilots 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 Coast Guard, Navy and other agencies, it was a local tour guide helicopter that spotted the pair in the ocean, said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Cooper, of the Coast Guard.

That sighting led to additional units who converged on the area and found the two pilots near each other a few miles off the western coast in the water.

Both were wearing their life vests.

“And that probably saved their lives,” Cooper said, adding that it was still unclear how they had 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 people were winched aboard at around 11:45 a.m. 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 Friday.

“I am sorry for making you worry,” Uemoto told her mother.

More family members waited outside a security fence, watching as both rescued pilots were prepared to leave for the hospital. Family inside the fence with the rescued pilots thanked the flight crews and walked back to relay the good news to family waiting on the other side.

“They’re alive, God is good,” one family member called out to the waiting members.

“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.

Both pilots reportedly suffered minor injuries, Coast Guard officials said.

The pilots 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.

The two are pilots with Mokulele Airlines, with Uemoto having worked there for slightly more than a year and McMahon for about six months.

Both pilots had merged seemlessly into the ohana of the business, said Stephen Fredrick, the airline’s chief of safety. He’s also a captain for the airline and flew with Uemoto in her first flight with the company.

“There’s no other word than heartbreaking,” he said of his reaction when he heard the were missing after a controller at the Honolulu International Airport called him.

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,” he said, thanking the crews who found them and the pilots themselves, who had the sense to make their way closer to shore.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Center brought in numerous units to begin a sweep when the rescue attempt first got underway, including a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3. The 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 be back in service shortly.

“They’re professional pilots,” he said. “This is what they love to do.”