What happened
During a ferry flight traveling from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, the pilot encountered unexpected weather conditions that led to a fuel emergency. While the flight was initially planned with enough fuel to reach the destination with a two-hour reserve, the pilot encountered significant headwinds that were not present during the preflight briefing.
Approximately seven hours and ten minutes into the journey, the pilot calculated that the remaining fuel would last eight hours and forty minutes, leaving only seven hours and forty minutes of flight time before reaching the destination. Three hours after this calculation, the pilot realized the two-hour fuel reserve had been depleted. Consequently, the pilot declared a low fuel emergency and altered the flight path toward Hilo, Hawaii.
Before the fuel was completely exhausted, the pilot decided to perform a controlled ditching in the Pacific Ocean. The pilot successfully evacuated the aircraft before it submerged. The U.S. Coast Guard subsequently rescued the pilot.
Findings
- The primary factor in the emergency was the development of significant headwinds during the flight, which differed from the light and variable winds reported in the preflight weather briefing.
- The aircraft was able to be ditched with engine power still available, preventing a total fuel exhaustion scenario before the landing attempt.