What happened
The pilot departed from Marathon, Florida, with an intended destination of Hollywood, Florida. A visual flight rules flight plan had been filed but was never activated. During the flight, the pilot transmitted a distress call on the emergency guard frequency, stating that he had no oil pressure and intended to ditch the aircraft.
A search operation was initiated by the U.S. Coast Guard following the distress call. The search was terminated two days later. During this period, the pilot's flight bag washed ashore, but no wreckage from the airplane was sighted. Consequently, the pilot is presumed dead.
Findings
The primary factor in this incident was the loss of oil pressure, which necessitated an emergency water landing. The lack of a activated flight plan likely delayed the initial response to the distress call.