What happened
During a routine coastal flight, the operating crew encountered a critical shortage of aviation fuel. Unable to reach a suitable landing site on land due to the depletion of reserves, the pilot initiated an emergency ditching procedure. The aircraft made contact with the water surface off the coast of Cullen. Following the impact, the airframe was lost in the sea. However, both members of the flight crew were successfully extracted from the wreckage and rescued by emergency services.
Findings
The official investigation identified the immediate cause of the incident as an emergency landing due to fuel exhaustion. The sequence of events indicates that the aircraft's fuel reserves were depleted while cruising along the coastline, leaving no margin for a controlled landing on land.