What happened
On September 28, 2017, a Cessna 172F, registered N5364R, departed V.C. Bird/St. John’s Airport in Antigua for a flight to Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet, Guadeloupe. The flight was a private general aviation trip carrying a pilot and one passenger.
While cruising at 1,500 ft over the Antigua Channel, the pilot noticed a significant reduction in engine power. Despite attempting standard emergency procedures, including adjustments to the mixture and checking fuel selectors, the engine failed to recover. At 13:38 local time, while descending through 869 ft, the pilot declared an emergency, informing air traffic control that the aircraft was forced to perform an emergency water landing.
In preparation for the impact, the pilot opened the aircraft doors and instructed the passenger to retrieve life jackets. During the ditching, the aircraft overturned and quickly filled with water. The pilot and passenger managed to evacuate the sinking aircraft, but they were unable to take the life jackets with them. The two occupants eventually located a floating life jacket and clung to it for several hours until they were rescued by a US military vessel approximately three and a half hours later. Both the pilot and the passenger sustained slight injuries.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the engine's performance and the survival aspects of the ditching. Analysis of radio communications confirmed that the engine was operating at approximately 2,300 RPM during the initial phase of the power loss, but the acoustic signature of the engine disappeared entirely by the time the emergency was declared, consistent with a total loss of power.
The aircraft's Continental O-300 engine had recently undergone maintenance in Antigua to address a previously stuck piston; however, because the wreckage was not recovered, a physical examination of the engine was not possible. Investigators also examined the survival procedures, noting that while the pilot's actions allowed for evacuation, the failure to wear the life jackets before impact increased the risk of exhaustion.