HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu emergency service crews responded to reports of a downed Boeing 737 cargo plane after it was forced to make an emergency landing off the coast of West Oahu Friday morning. The pilots on board reported suffering apparent engine trouble.
It happened around 1:45 a.m. approximately two miles off the coast near Kalaeloa Airport, the Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed.
After noticing trouble with the engine, Transair Flight 810 attempted to return to Honolulu International Airport but was forced to make a water landing instead, leaving the two pilots, believed to be in their 50s, in critical and serious conditions.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued both crew members.
Honolulu Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) also responded.
HFD’s ARFF Rescue boat extracted one pilot from the ocean at 2:51 a.m. while the USCG extracted the second pilot at 2:57 a.m.
According to EMS, paramedics met with one of the pilots, a 50-year-old man, at the end of Lagoon Drive. The man was treated for a head injury and taken to a trauma emergency room in serious condition. EMS said he had multiple lacerations.
The other pilot was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Center by the USCG. EMS confirmed him to be in critical condition.
Transair is a cargo airline that only flies within Hawaii and operates a fleet of five planes.
KHON2’s Wake Up2day crew spoke with Jai Cunningham with the Hawaii Department of Transportation to get the latest details.
Just before 6 a.m., the National Transportation Safety Board took to Twitter to announce that they are sending a team of investigators to look into the crash.
Boeing issued the following statement:
Transair, the company under which the pilots are employed, released the following statement:
“Early this morning one of our cargo aircraft made an emergency water landing offshore of Oahu after reporting engine trouble. Two employed flight crew were aboard. Both were rescued by first responders and are receiving medical care. We are working with the Coast Guard, the FAA and NTSB to secure the scene and investigate the cause. Our most immediate concern is the care and recovery of our colleagues. We will provide additional information as soon as it becomes available.”
Teimour Riahi, CEO of Transair
The Associated Press contributed to this story.