History of Flight
On January 14, 2008, at 0508 Hawaiian standard time, N410UB, a Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 1900C, was lost from radar over the ocean about 6.5 nautical miles south of the Lihue Airport, Lihue, Hawaii, located on the island of Kauai. Alpine Aviation Inc., doing business as Alpine Air, was operating the airplane as an on-demand cargo flight, AIP 253, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. The airline transport pilot, who was not located, is presumed to have been killed, and the airplane was destroyed. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, at 0443, and was destined for Lihue.
According to the operator, the pilot was making his first flight after coming off of a rest period. The purpose of the flight was to transfer mail to Lihue, with a return flight to Honolulu later that same day. The flight was scheduled to arrive at Lihue about 0515.
Air Traffic Control Communications
A Safety Board air traffic control specialist reviewed the air traffic control information surrounding the accident flight. The pilot contacted the Honolulu Control Facility (HCF) controller at 0443:23, and was later advised to climb to 10,000 feet mean sea level (msl). At 0453:50, the flight crew of Aloha Airlines (AAH) 917 contacted the HCF controller and advised that they could see the Beech 1900. At 0454:24, the AAH 917 flight crew requested to level off at 14,000 feet. About 4 minutes later, AIP 253 was instructed to descend at pilot discretion and maintain 2,000 feet. At 0501:08, the HCF controller instructed AIP 253 to maintain 6,000 feet, and the pilot acknowledged.
At 0503:30, the HCF controller instructed AIP 253 to, "Follow the Boeing 737, cleared visual approach to Lihue airport. Radar service terminated. Change to advisory frequency approved and report on the ground please." A few seconds later, the pilot replied, "OK, we'll follow him in visual approach and, ah, we're switching (unreadable). So long."
At 0507:26, according to radar data, the minimum safe altitude warning (MSAW) aural and visual alarms activated on AIP 253 on the R3 controller's radar display for 32 seconds. The controller was not in contact with the pilot when the warning occurred, so the pilot was not advised of the MSAW alert. At 0507:58, AIP 253 was lost from radar about 6.5 miles south-southeast of the airport, and the radar data showed an altitude of minus 100 feet mean sea level. At 0515:17 and 0518:06, the R2 controller attempted to reestablish contact with the pilot, but was unsuccessful.
Pilot Information
The pilot, age 38, held an airline transport pilot certificate for multi-engine land issued on November 4, 2006, and was issued a type rating in the Beech 1900 on October 12, 2007. He also held a type rating for a Bombardier CL-65 with second-in-command privileges. The pilot held a first-class airman medical certificate issued on January 7, 2008, with no limitations. On the medical application, the pilot reported 3,000 hours total pilot time, with 300 hours accrued during the past 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane, a Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 1900C, was manufactured in 1989. It was powered by two Pratt and Whitney PT6A-65B engines equipped with Hartzell HC-B4MP propellers. The airplane was not equipped with a ground proximity warning system. The load manifest for the flight was not located; using the previous flight's manifest, investigators estimated a ramp weight of 16,098 pounds and a takeoff weight of 15,988 pounds.
Wreckage and Impact
Pieces of the wreckage were recovered by the Coast Guard, including the front cabin door, the rear cargo door, a life raft, approximately half of the mail, and one landing gear. Multiple smaller pieces were also recovered. In June, two fiberglass pieces were identified on the shore of Niihau. In November, landing gear presumed to be from the accident airplane washed ashore on the island of Kauai.
Meteorological Conditions
At Lihue Airport at 0453, reported weather: wind from 030 degrees at 23 knots gusting to 27 knots, 10 miles visibility, scattered clouds at 4,100 feet and overcast at 5,500 feet, temperature 20°C, dew point 13°C, altimeter 30.13 inches of mercury.
Search and Notification
The assistant chief pilot for Alpine Air-Hawaii was notified at 0623 that the airplane had not arrived. The Coast Guard indicated that debris was initially identified floating on the ocean surface at 0848, approximately 11 miles south-southwest of the airport. The water depths in the search area were up to 800 fathoms (4,800 feet). The Coast Guard discontinued the search on the afternoon of January 15.