# Accident 20171210022959A: Cessna U206G, Maunaloa, HI, December 10, 2017 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 10, 2017, 11:05 local time - Place: Maunaloa, HI - Airport: Molokai - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 21.1331° N, 157.1497° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.1331&lon=-157.1497&mi=10 - Aircraft: N732DF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N732DF-2021-07-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna U206G (registry code 2073356, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206g) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA U206G - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 2,697 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC18FA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC18FA012) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20171210022959A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON DECEMBER 10, 2017, AT APPROXIMATELY 1105 HAWAIIAN STANDARD TIME, A WHEEL-EQUIPPED TEXTRON AVIATION (FORMERLY CESSNA) U206G AIRPLANE, N732DF, IMPACTED REMOTE HILLS IN MAUNALOA, HAWAII ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE MOLOKAI AIRPORT, KAUNAKAKAI, HAWAII WHILE PERFORMING AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) APPROACH. THE INSTRUMENT-RATED PRIVATE PILOT AND SOLE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE DANIEL K. INOUYE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, HONOLULU, HAWAII (HNL), AT APPROXIMATELY 1030 HST. AFTER DEPARTING FROM HNL, THE PILOT FLEW VFR AS HE TRAVELED TO THE WEST SIDE OF MOLOKAI, WHERE HE REQUESTED WITH HNL APPROACH CONTROL CENTER (ZHN) THE VOR-A INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO RUNWAY 5 AT THE MOLOKAI AIRPORT (MKK). ZHN ISSUED THE PILOT CLEARANCE FOR THE VOR-A PRACTICE APPROACH. WHILE CONDUCTING THE APPROACH, MOLOKAI TOWER CONTROLLER OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE SOUTH OF COURSE AT A 6-MILE FINAL AND ADVISED THE PILOT OF THIS STATUS. THE PILOT RESPONDED THAT HE WAS CORRECTING, BUT WAS MANEUVERING TO REMAIN CLEAR OF CLOUDS. THE AIRPLANE THEN DISAPPEARED FROM THE RADAR DISPLAY SYSTEM AND THE AIR CONTROL CONTROLLER TRANSMITTED TO THE PILOT WITH NO RESPONSE. ZHN WAS NOTIFIED WITHIN 3 MINUTES OF LOSING CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE AND AN ALERT NOTICE (ALNOT) WAS ISSUED APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES LATER. THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER NOTIFIED LOCAL FIRST RESPONDERS ON MOLOKAI. NO EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) SIGNAL WAS RECEIVED BY U.S. AIR FORCE OR U.S. COAST GUARD ASSETS. THE MOLOKAI FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AT 1213 AND THE MOLOKAI POLICE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AT 1230. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS LOCATED IN REMOTE HILLS ON THE MOLOKAI RANCH, MAUNALOA AT POSITION: 2108.13N 15709.37W. THE AIRPLANE'S WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF A HILL THAT CRESTED APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET, WITH A 50 DEGREE INCLINE, AND WAS POPULATED WITH LOW GROWTH VEGETATION. THE WRECKAGE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY INCINERATED BY A POST-IMPACT FIRE. ON DECEMBER 13, THE NTSB IIC, TWO AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTORS FROM THE FAA HONOLULU FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE, AN AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATOR FROM TEXTRON AVIATION, AND THE MOLOKAI POLICE DEPARTMENT TRAVELED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE UTILIZING OFF ROAD VEHICLES. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A SET OF TREES, ABOUT 20 FEET TALL (PROCEEDING TO THE NORTHEAST), FOLLOWED BY A SECOND SET OF TREES ABOUT 15 FEET TALL (PROCEEDING TO THE NORTHEAST, BEFORE COMING TO REST ON THE SIDE OF THE HILL. THE FINAL RESTING POSITION ON THE HILL WAS FACING A 220-DEGREE HEADING (ALMOST AN OPPOSITE HEADING OF IMPACTING THE TWO SETS OF TREES), AND THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON A CROSS SLOPE POSITION. NO ELT WAS FOUND IN THE ELT MOUNTING BRACKET IN THE EMPENNAGE. ACCORDING TO THE MECHANIC WHO WORKED ON THE AIRPLANE, HE REPORTED TO THE FAA THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS PLACARDED FOR THE ELT REMOVAL AND THE ELT WAS NOT PHYSICALLY INSTALLED IN THE AIRPLANE. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ANC18FA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC18FA012), Dec 10, 2017: Cessna U206 (N732DF), Maunaloa, HI, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to continue visual flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions while conducting an instrument approach, which resulted in a loss of visual reference and… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.