A job-site helicopter and a military chopper safely made emergency landings in separate incidents in Wai'alae Iki and Hale'iwa yesterday. There were no reported serious injuries.

In the first event, both people aboard escaped serious injury when their helicopter made a "hard landing" about 10:30 a.m. on the mountain ridge above Kalani High School.

A Makani Kai Helicopters A-Star craft was taking a radio technician from Fox Radio to a transmitting tower in Wai'alae Iki when the helicopter suffered mechanical problems.

The pilot, Eiki Miyasato, landed the aircraft, but it was "substantially damaged," said Makani Kai owner Richard Schuman.

Schuman blamed the hard landing on "a mechanical issue."

"After review with the pilot it appears that there may be some malfunction with the helicopter," he said.

Cris Caughill, the Fox Radio technician, was not injured, but the pilot was airlifted from the site by the Honolulu Fire Department helicopter and examined by an ambulance crew. He did not require hospitalization.

The two men were going to the transmitter tower to repair damage caused by the Dec. 26 blackout, Schuman said.

He praised the pilot and said that his experience contributed to the safe outcome.

"It's extremely fortunate there's no injuries and that's due to the pilot's skill," Schuman said. "It happened right on top of a ridge. He was good and we happen to be very lucky."

Miyasato has been with the helicopter company since 1991, according to the company's Web site. Schuman said he is 55 years old and has about 25 years of flying experience.

Schuman said it was too soon to tell if the helicopter will fly again. The company will airlift it off the ridge in a day or two and assess the damage then.

"We really don't know until we pull it off the mountain," he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has initiated an investigation and if necessary the National Transportation Safety Board will step in, but Schuman said he thinks the issue will be handled by the local FAA office because of the lack of injury and catastrophic results.

Fire Department spokesman Terry Seelig said HFD was notified about 10:40 a.m. Rescue crews and the department's helicopter were sent to the area, located along the Wiliwili Nui Ridge, Seelig said.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., a military helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing on the North Shore.

Details were not immediately available, but the helicopter made a safe landing near "Police Beach" in Hale'iwa shortly after 5:30 p.m. There were no reports of injuries to the crew or damage to the aircraft.

The helicopter landed on the ocean side of Kamehameha Highway, Seelig said. He said fire crews responded to the incident, but their services were not needed.

It was not immediately known what led the crew to land the helicopter. Army officials could not be reached for comment.