20021215033889A

(-23) Aircraft departed hnl at 150854 PST enroute to majoro rmi. Last two way communication was at 152306 UTC. Aircraft failed to arrive at destination. Search initiated by coast guard. Search by coast guard for more than 40 hours. No trace of aircraft was ever located. Aircraft and pilot presumed lost at sea. (.19) on December 15, 2002, between 1305 and 2200 hawaiian standard time (all times referenced herein are HST), a Piper PA-34-200T twin-engine airplane, N101YK, failed to arrive at the flight's intended destination of majuro island (kmj), located in the marshall islands, south pacific ocean. The airplane was registered to the commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, and was operated as a ferry flight under 14 CFR part 91. The pilot is presumed to have sustained fatal injuries and the aircraft is presumed to be destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the honolulu international airport (hnl), honolulu, Hawaii, at 0700, and was destined for a fuel stop at majuro island. The flight's final destinati on was tinian island located in the northern mariana islands. Interviews with federal aviation administration inspectors, other pilots, and the previous aircraft owner revealed the following information: the airplane flew from California to Hawaii approximately 1 week prior to the aforementioned flight. The airplane was then sold to the pilot, who intended on flying the airplane to tinian island, where he planned on using the airplane to start an air charter business. The airplane utilized the same fuel system that was used for the flight from the mainland to Hawaii. The fuel system, added to the airplane for the overseas flights (250 gallons), combined with the original aircraft fuel system (123 gallons), allowed for a total of 373 gallons of aviation gasoline. According to the pilot's flight plan, this would amount to 15 hours of endurance. Review of radio transmission transcripts revealed that the pilot was having difficulty transmitting via his hf radio. He was able to receive communications; however, his transmissions were "totally distorted." The pilot was able to report his position by transmitting to another aircraft, who then relayed the information to air traffic control. According to the relay, N101YK'S last position was over johnston atoll at 5,500 feet at 1240. The pilot estimated his arrival over 15 degrees 30 minutes north and 172 degrees 30 minutes west, at 1338. At 1250, N101YK requested via relay to climb to 10,000 feet. At 1258, N101YK was cleared to climb to 10,000 feet with instructions to report his level off. The pilot reported level at 10,000 feet (via relay), at 1305. There were no additional communications with N101YK. According to the pilot's flight endurance calculations, the airplane would have enough fuel to last until 2200. When the airplane did not arrive at its destination, a search was initiated. According to the united states coast guard, airborne searches were initiated on the morning of December 16, 2002, and were called off on December 20, 2002. The coast guard conducted 40 hours of search flights along 128,000 square miles of pacific ocean along the aircraft's intended route of flight. No wreckage or debris field was noted.