HILO, Hawai'i — The pilot and four tourists aboard a Tropical Helicopters escaped serious injury yesterday when their helicopter made a hard landing just moments after lifting off from the Hilo airport.

Big Island police said a pilot and four visitors from Oregon were aboard the Hughes MD500E helicopter, which got eight to 10 feet above ground before the pilot brought it down 173 feet from where it had taken off at 9:30 a.m.

The impact broke the helicopter's right skid and bent the boom that leads to the tail rotor, police said.

The pilot, Emily Coates, 33, of Hilo, reported mechanical problems, police said.

Passenger Gertrude Risen, 69, of Monmouth, Ore., was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment of back, neck and ankle pain. She was treated and released.

A second passenger, Jackie Higdon, 45, of Roseburg, Ore., was treated at the airport for minor injuries. The other passengers were Adolph Morris Risen Jr., 73, and David Higdon.

A Tropical Helicopters official declined to comment on the incident. The company has been in business since 1997, according to its Web site.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

A Tropical Helicopters tour flight crashed in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on June 15, 2003, killing the pilot and three passengers.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.