A Maui tour helicopter with five people aboard crash-landed on the slopes of Haleakala near Kaupo yesterday morning, but no one was seriously injured.

The Eurocopter AS350BA, operated by Kahului-based Sunshine Helicopters, came down at about the 3,500-level in Mana-wainui Valley, east of Kaupo Gap. The pilot suffered an ankle injury and was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Two men and two women passengers suffered bumps and bruises but were not seriously injured. One woman was taken to Maui Memorial as a precaution, said Battalion Chief David Kamalani of the Maui Fire Department.

The incident is under investigation.

The helicopter took off about 8 a.m. from Kahului Airport on a circle-island tour, said Ross Scott, Sunshine Helicopters president. He said the aircraft was about 40 minutes into the hourlong tour when it ran into trouble.

Scott said yesterday afternoon that he had not met with the pilot and did not know what caused the helicopter to go down. He did not want to name the pilot but said he was "very experienced."

"Nobody from our company or the (Federal Aviation Administration) has talked to the pilot yet, so we really don't know what happened. But it's more than likely some type of mechanical problem," Scott said. "I'm sure he didn't have many alternatives from where he put it down there, and we're delighted that the passengers are all right and that the pilot's all right."

Kamalani said yesterday's incident could have been worse because the helicopter landed on a steep slope in a heavily forested area. He said the fire department received a call from Sunshine Helicopters at 10:04 a.m. that one of its aircraft had been missing for nearly 40 minutes.

Kamalani said fire officials made cell-phone contact with the pilot and rescue crews located the downed helicopter at 10:50 a.m. He said the fire department's helicopter airlifted the five people out of the valley.

Scott said this was the first incident that resulted in injuries since he and his wife founded Sunshine Helicopters in 1985.

In September 2003, a Sunshine Helicopters aircraft was heavily damaged when it made a hard landing in a lava field in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The pilot and six passengers escaped injury.

Yesterday's incident was the second in a week involving the hard landing of a Maui tour helicopter. Last Thursday, a Blue Hawaiian Helicopters aircraft crash-landed in Honokohau Valley after its pilot reported engine failure. None of the six people on board was seriously injured.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.