Search continues for three missing in Hawaii sightseeing plane

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — The two passengers aboard a tour plane that went missing this week over the Big Island of Hawaii have been identified as a couple from Japan, and the search for them and the pilot is continuing today.

Nobuhiro and Masako Suzuki, of Urayasu, Japan, were aboard a single-engine Cessna that disappeared Tuesday, according to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu. Nobuhiro is 53 and his wife is 56. The pilot was identified as Katsuhiro Takahashi.

KGMB-TV reported Thursday that the couple's 20-year-old son arrived on the Big Island and met with Mayor Harry Kim and other officials. An extensive aerial and ground search for the plane and the three on board that included the Coast Guard and the Hawaii County Fire Department produced no results Thursday. producing no results. Deputy Fire Chief Glen Honda said the Coast Guard did not plan to resume its search efforts Friday. He said the county would continue to look for the plane and its passengers at least through Sunday.

The plane departed from Kona International Airport at 10:25 a.m. Tuesday for a three-hour tour and never returned.

Hawaii County Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira said the aircraft was last spotted near Kilauea's eruption area and was believed to have been heading south to return to the airport.

Multiple government and private aircraft scoured the Big Island's vast and rugged terrain, as well as the ocean.

The Coast Guard reported good visibility as its pilots searched the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa and a densely forested area in the Kau Forest Preserve Thursday morning.

The Coast Guard says it has searched the plane's planned flight path and areas around its last reported position. It has also searched areas along routes the pilot may have flown if the plane had experienced trouble.

Island Hoppers, the tour company that operated the plane, said Takahashi was a senior pilot and chief flight instructor.

"The management and staff of Island Hoppers continue to be optimistic about a positive outcome to the recent disappearance of our aircraft and occupants," said Wendy Hart, the company's general manager, in a statement.

Takahashi is also Hawaii Flight Academy's chief flight instructor.

According to the school's web site, he holds the only Master Certified Flight Instructor designation in Hawaii and has earned a 100 percent pass record for every student he prepared for the Federal Aviation Administration flight test.

George Applegate, executive director of Big Island Visitors Bureau, said it is too early to tell if a missing airplane will have an effect on other air-tour companies, which have seen a spike in business from sightseers eager to catch a glimpse of the erupting Kilauea volcano.

"People understand this is really sad and things like this do happen," he said. "But it is a very, very rare thing."