Flight Details
A private pilot departed on a cross-country personal flight with five passengers, intending to reach an Alaskan coastal community. The airplane carried about 140 gallons of usable fuel. The intended destination was approximately 757 nautical miles away. The pilot planned a fuel stop en route.
As the flight progressed, the pilot requested to change the fuel stop to an airport about 100 miles away, closer to the final destination. Approaching that airport, the pilot again changed the destination, telling Air Traffic Control (ATC), "I'm going to change my destination ah...one more time, this will be the final time..." ATC cleared the flight to the pilot's intended destination.
Fuel Emergency
When the flight was about 22 miles southeast of the destination airport, the pilot informed the ATC specialist of concern about remaining fuel, saying, "...I'm really low on fuel, and still 30 miles out." Asked how much fuel remained, the pilot responded, "Well... lets see, its very low... Below 5 gallons in both tanks." The ATC specialist suggested an alternate airport closer to the flight's position, but the pilot, unfamiliar with that airport, elected to continue.
Shortly after, the pilot reported, "...out of gas, both engines." The pilot selected a forced landing site in open ocean waters, about 12 miles short of the intended destination.
Post-Ditching Events
According to two surviving passengers, after the airplane struck the water, all occupants lost consciousness momentarily. When the survivors regained consciousness, about 2 feet of water had entered the cabin and the airplane was sinking. Four of the six occupants, including the pilot, evacuated into the water. The two remaining occupants remained inside as the airplane sank.
The four survivors swam toward the closest shoreline, about 1 mile away. During the swim, the two surviving occupants became separated from the other two. To date, neither the two occupants who remained in the airplane nor the pilot and the one occupant who exited before it sank have been located.