What happened
A twin engine airplane failed to reach its intended destination while conducting a ferry flight across the Pacific Ocean. The flight was planned from Honolulu, Hawaii, to T/Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands, with a scheduled refueling stop at Majuro Island in the Marshall Islands.
The aircraft was equipped with supplemental fuel tanks integrated into the existing fuel system, providing a total capacity of 373 gallons of aviation gasoline. Based on these calculations, the pilot anticipated an endurance of approximately 15 hours for a flight estimated to take 12.5 hours. During the flight, air traffic control records indicate the pilot experienced difficulties communicating via high frequency radio. The pilot's final position was relayed to air traffic control through another aircraft, at which point he requested a climb to 10,000 feet MSL. His last received transmission confirmed that he had leveled off at 10,000 feet. The aircraft and the 1 fatal pilot are presumed destroyed.
The investigation
A review of weather studies for the intended route did not reveal any severe weather scenarios. The aircraft had been ferried from the U.S. mainland to Honolulu several weeks before the accident, with no anomalies reported during that period. Investigators noted that the installation of the ferry tanks within the cabin partially obstructed the single right-side cabin door. This obstruction raised concerns regarding whether the pilot could have exited the aircraft quickly with survival equipment in the event of an ocean ditching.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating with a modified fuel system for long-range flight.
- Communication difficulties with high frequency radio were present during the final stages of tracking.
- The ferry tank installation partially blocked an emergency exit path.