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Coast Guard suspends missing pilot search

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard on Sunday suspended its search for a Coast Guard pilot missing since his helicopter crashed during exercises off Oahu last week.

Crews continued to recover debris from the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter. Coast Guard investigators from Washington, D.C., were expected to begin examining recovered debris in the evening.

The chopper crashed while the crew was conducting search-and-rescue drills with a 47-foot motor lifeboat Thursday.

The Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department searched more than 3,000 square miles — about five times the area of Oahu. The three other crew members were rescued shortly after the crash but declared dead at The Queen’s Medical Center.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my intention, pending further developments, to suspend the search for the missing crew member,” said Rear Adm. Manson K. Brown, commander of Coast Guard District 14.

The Coast Guard identified the missing pilot as Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, 42, of Staten Island, N.Y.

Nelson was married with two children. Since July 2007, he was the executive officer at Coast Guard Air Station Barber’s Point, Hawaii.

Most recently, Nelson was the deputy chief, Office of Security and Defense Operations at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington.

His brother, Jim Nelson, told KITV by telephone from Staten Island that he was doing the work he always dreamed of doing.

“He was excited to join the Coast Guard since he was in fifth grade. He just knew that’s what he was going to do for the rest of his life,” Jim Nelson said. “He was actually a fantastic swimmer, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

The other crew members were previously identified as co-pilot Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; rescue swimmer Petty Officer 1st Class David Skimin, 38, of San Bernardino, Calif.; and flight mechanic Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, 27, of Gloucester, Va.

The Coast Guard plans a memorial service to honor the men.

“I want to extend my deepest condolences to their families,” Brown said.

Others assisting the search included the Navy, Air Force, Hawaii Air National Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

More than 90 different patrols scoured an area out to 40 miles offshore along a stretch from Barber’s Point to Diamond Head.

Search crews have already recovered the chopper’s fuselage, as well as the data and voice recorder.

The Coast Guard plans to gather the recovered debris in a secure hangar at Hickam Air Force Base. The investigators will try to determine the cause of the crash.

Just before the chopper went down, the crew reported problems with a line that lowers rescue baskets. It is not known whether this malfunction was related to the crash.

Related reading:

3 dead, 1 missing in CG crash off Hawaii