What happened
During a routine training sortie, a military seaplane lost control and plunged into the sea off the coast of Pearl Harbor. The aircraft struck the water surface with significant force, leading to the immediate loss of the airframe. All 10 crew members on board were killed in the incident. The flight was part of standard operational training procedures when the emergency occurred.
Findings
Investigations into the accident focused on the sequence of events leading up to the crash. Witness reports indicated that the aircraft first experienced difficulties at an altitude of approximately 2,500 feet. The official findings suggest that the pilot was performing control checks involving radical adjustments to the control tabs. These maneuvers caused the plane to assume dangerous attitudes and execute violent movements. It is concluded that these forces likely pinned the pilots against the top of the cockpit, rendering them unable to access the controls. Consequently, the aircraft entered a vertical dive from which it could not be recovered.