A couple from Hawaii were on their honeymoon in Australia when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed into waters near Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands on Wednesday, killing them both.

Peter Hensel, 79, and Sue Hensel, 65, got married last December and chose the Whitsundays as their honeymoon destination.

A younger couple from Colorado, one of whom is believed to be Sue Hensel’s daughter, escaped with minor injuries. The 35-year-old pilot also escaped serious injury.

On Friday, friends described the Hawaiian pair as “a really sweet couple”.

Whitsunday helicopter crash: two killed during Great Barrier Reef flight Read more

Ronald Cole said the couple met at a lodge in Kona, where they were members before becoming friends.

“I noticed them over the years – him first coming in, in the afternoon, seldom smiling having a drink or two, and then she started coming in, and she could really make him smile,” he said.



Vern Ungerecht, Peter’s friend of more than 25 years, said they were thrilled to be going on the trip.



“They were so looking forward to this. They were so excited about this big trip. It was a new experience for both of them,” Ungerecht told West Hawaii Today.



Another friend, Wendy Zweigardt, said the couple would be missed.



“They were so happy, and a really sweet couple. I was so happy for them getting married. They will certainly be missed,” she wrote on Facebook.

Four investigators – two each from Brisbane and Canberra – were on their way to the scene at Hardy Reef, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief commissioner, Greg Hood, said on Thursday.



They will try to recover and examine the wreckage, interview witnesses, and examine flight data and training and maintenance logs.



Police were speaking to witnesses on Hamilton Island as they continued to assist the Australian Transport Safety Bureau with the investigation and recovery of the aircraft.



In the moments after the crash, the pilot and pulled Sue Hensel from the helicopter, while others performed CPR on both victims under instruction by phone from emergency services officers.



“It’s absolutely essential in this type of accident that we get as many perspectives we possibly can from any witnesses,” Hood said as he asked for anyone who had seen anything to come forward.



A preliminary report will be published in late April.



Operator Whitsunday Air Services has suspended all operations and will work with authorities to determine the cause of the crash.



The crash happened a day after the ATSB released its findings into a November incident involving the company, in which no one was injured.

