Yesterday, beneath a Magic Island banyan tree, some 70 co-workers, friends and family gathered to honor three Hawaii Air Ambulance employees killed when their Cessna 414A crashed into a car dealership in Kahului, Maui, on March 8.

The victims — pilot Peter Miller, 32, flight nurse Brien Eisaman, 37, and medical technician Marlena Yomes, 38 — were remembered for their professionalism, warmth, dedication and compassion.

"I worked extremely close with all three of them," said Anita Lucas-Legg, chief flight nurse for the private air ambulance outfit. "I can't say enough good about any of the three of them. They were unique people, they were high-energy, and they were totally happy all the time. It was a pleasure to work with them. And yet they always rose to the occasion."

The informal company memorial was conducted in addition to family services planned for each of the three.

Kawaiaha'o Church pastor Curtis Kekuna spoke to the gathering. Although he said he had no answers or guarantees, Kekuna assured those who wept, traded hugs and remembered their colleagues fondly that "they are in a better place than we are."

Following Kekuna's words, 21 white doves were released, and the mourners scattered lei and flower petals at water's edge.

At one point, Hawaii Air Ambulance chairman and CEO Andrew Kluger was overcome with emotion as he greeted one of Miller's fellow pilots.

Earlier, Kluger spoke of a meeting he had Tuesday with members of the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children transport team.

After the Maui crash, members of the state's only nursing team that transports critically ill children said they would not board another air ambulance aircraft until further notice.

The team's refusal was in response to the March 8 accident as well as to another Hawaii Air Ambulance plane crash on the Big Island on Jan. 31, 2004, which also killed three people.

Kluger, who said he won't speculate on the cause of the crash until a National Transportation Safety Board investigation is complete, said Tuesday's meeting with the Kapi-'olani team went very well and was not confrontational.

He said the hourlong meeting was meant to update the team about his decision to voluntarily ground the company's four remaining Cessna planes, all built in the 1970s, and to reassure the nurses that the company was doing everything to ensure the safety of the aircraft.

Kluger said he explained his decision to call in a local aircraft company to independently evaluate the airworthiness of his aircraft, as well as his intent to bring in a safety consultant from Reno, Nev.

Kluger said the twin-engine Cessnas would be grounded through Saturday or longer. Meanwhile, he said, his staff would work using Coast Guard and chartered aircraft.

"We're not going to rush the examinations of the aircraft," Kluger said. "It's an independent evaluation."

He said the Kapi'olani nurses asked him numerous questions at Tuesday's meeting, such as why the company's aircraft don't have co-pilots.

"These aircraft are made for single pilots. And if you had a co-pilot — because we fly with two nurses, a patient and equipment — it's a weight and balance issue," Kluger said.

Pat Oda, spokeswoman for Kapi'olani, agreed with Kluger's assessment of what transpired. She said nothing was decided by the team members at the meeting.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.