The owner of the helicopter company reached out to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu when the aircraft didn’t return from a tour of the Napali coast, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
One pilot and six passengers were on the helicopter and two of those passengers are believed to be minors.
“There was a cold front that came through the area around that time, bringing scattered showers and an increase of wind gusts,” CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.
The aircraft is equipped with an electronic locator, but no signals have been received, officials said.
The current winds are around 14 mph with gusts up to 25 mph with light rain and Friday’s wind forecast is 14-20 mph with gusts up to 28 mph and scattered showers are in the forecast, Shackelford said.
This is a developing story. More to come.