Incident Details
While approaching Honolulu on a ferry flight originating from San Jose, California, the crew declared an emergency via an auxiliary emergency system, reporting that all communication and navigation systems had failed. Minutes later, the aircraft crashed into the ocean off the coast of Honolulu.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Search and rescue (SAR) operations were initiated immediately following the crash. However, after several days, the search was abandoned as no trace of the aircraft or its two crew members was found.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the probable cause of the accident was a double engine failure in flight due to fuel exhaustion. Several contributing factors were identified, including the crew becoming lost or disoriented, failure of communications and navigation equipment, failure of the Loran receiver, communications failure, failure of both engines, a forced landing off airport on water, the aircraft not being recovered, the pilot reporting HF radio and Loran inoperative, the crew being lost, and the absence of fuel.