Night Ferry Flight from Majuro to Cairns Ends in Missing Aircraft (N296MA)

Flight and Emergency Call During a night ferry flight from Majuro, Marshall Islands, to Cairns, Australia, the pilot requested a descent from flight level 190 to 12,000 feet to remove ice from the airframe. The pilot later requested a climb to flight level 200. After beginning the climb, the pilot made a mayday call to Sydney flight service and reported that the aircraft was in an uncontrolled descent. No further transmission was received from the aircraft. ## Search and Environmental Conditions The aircraft was presumed to have crashed at sea about 370 miles east-northeast of Cairns. Neither the aircraft nor the pilot was found. Thunderstorms were reported in the area, and the pilot had reported being in the clouds during an earlier descent to 12,000 feet. ## Prior Ferry History The investigation revealed that the aircraft was being ferried from Tulsa, Oklahoma. A previous pilot, who had flown it to Oakland, refused to continue the flight because of a cabin pressurization problem. A second pilot, who was to continue the flight, returned to Oakland and landed the aircraft in an overweight condition, resulting in structural damage. A third pilot then continued the flight, making stops in Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.