Incident Overview
A crew departed from Patuxent River Naval Air Station, destined for Antarctica to participate in a search and rescue mission for a US Navy UC-1 Otter that had been missing since February 3. While approaching the Venezuelan coast, the aircraft experienced a failure of its right engine. The captain decided to divert to Piarco Airport in Trinidad and Tobago. Shortly thereafter, the left engine also failed.
Emergency Landing
With both engines inoperative and the aircraft approximately 15 miles offshore, the captain opted to head toward the coast. The crew successfully executed an emergency landing in an uninhabited area on the north side of the state of Delta Amacuro in Venezuela. Upon touchdown, the aircraft struck trees, losing both wings, and came to rest broken in two pieces.
Rescue
All eight crew members aboard the aircraft were rescued and evacuated safely from the accident site. The official investigation determined the probable cause of the incident to be a double engine failure in flight.