On September 4, 2008 CG-6505, an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, crashed approximately five miles south of the Honolulu International Airport.
Immediately prior to the crash the aircrew has conducted rescue basket hoist training with Motor Life Boat (MLB) 47317 from Coast Guard Station Honolulu. During the fifth hoist evolution at approximately 8:11 p.m. the hoist cable went slack due to the motion of the helicopter in a hover and the small boat in the waves, and air crew cable adjustments in response to these motions. The extra slack in the cable formed a loop that snagged on a dewatering standpipe just as the stern of MLB 47317 fell in the trough of a wave causing the cable to part and inducing an extreme yaw to the left that caused damage to the helicopter’s rotor system and other damage when the rotor blades made contact with the helicopter’s hoist boom assembly.
The aircraft transitioned to forward flight, gained altitude and commenced a slow climb northwest toward the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. CG-6505 climbed to an altitude of about 500 feet and accelerated to about 50 mph while experiencing abnormal vibrations and issuing “Mayday” calls. The aircraft traveled about two miles when it experienced a catastrophic loss of airworthiness and rapidly fell into the Pacific Ocean in position 21-13’-37” N, 157-57’-34” W at approximately 8:15 p.m. and sank in water about 1,300 feet deep.
All four Coast Guard air crewmembers aboard CG-6505, Capt. Thomas Nelson, Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, Petty Officer First Class David Skimin, and Petty Officer First Class Joshua Nichols, perished in the accident.
| Name | Rating | Duty Station | Date |
| Skimin, D. | AST1 | AIRSTA Barbers Pt, HI | 9/4/2008 |
| Nichols, J. | AMT2 | AIRSTA Barbers Pt, HI | 9/4/2008 |
Source: USCG FOIA Reading Room