An official said salvage efforts could begin today.

"The big thing is just to get Tom back. You got somebody up there that we need to get back down," said Frank Huemmer of Brecksville, Ohio.

The Bell 206B JetRanger hit the mountainside while on a 45-minute sightseeing flight.

Kaua'i Fire Department rescue captains Shawn Hosaka and Colin Wilson said the fuselage is lying in mud on an extremely steep slope, just a few feet above a vertical cliff. They said there is a distinct fear that trying to move the fuselage could cause it to slide, endangering rescue crews and threatening the recovery mission.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Nicole Charnon said she is waiting for the removal of the wreckage to a place where it can be studied. She said she was informed the recovery could begin today. Officials at Bali Hai Helicopter Tours had no comment.

Fire Chief Dennis Furushima said yesterday his department had not been asked to assist in any recovery work.

Frank Huemmer said friends and family have been tremendously supportive, but that the next step for the community requires that his son's remains come home. He said there are plans to hold a joint service for his son and fiancee, Tamara Zytkowski, who was a nurse manager at the Cleveland Clinic.

"It's extremely important. Here you have a couple who were in love, and we planned something that would ease our pain. We planned to have a joint wake where the two families would be side-by-side, and they would be buried side-by-side," he said.

"Not that it replaces anything, but it would make us feel better."

The identities of the pilot and a German couple killed in the crash have not been released.