What happened
A routine maritime patrol mission over the Gulf of Mexico ended in an emergency water landing after an aircraft experienced a dual engine failure. The flight originated from Cancún Airport and proceeded as planned for approximately five hours. As the crew approached the coastline to return to their home base, they notified air traffic control that one engine had ceased functioning.
Shortly after this initial notification, the second engine also failed. In an attempt to manage the emergency, the crew lowered the aircraft's altitude and performed a ditching maneuver in the sea. The incident occurred approximately 3.5 km from the coast of Progreso, situated about 40 km north of Mérida. While the aircraft was destroyed during the impact, all 7 occupants were successfully recovered from the scene.
Findings
Investigations into the accident focused on the simultaneous loss of power in both engines. The primary factor identified was a double engine failure, with investigators noting that fuel exhaustion was a suspected contributing element to the loss of propulsion.