- Date
- December 23, 1987, 18:53 local (Dec 24, 1987, 04:53 UTC)
- Place
- Maunaloa, HI
- Injuries
- 8 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N712ANPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871223076509A
- Case key
- 25800
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight was to be flown across a 22 mile channel between islands on an overcast night with no moon and no ground reference lights. The aircraft disappeared from radar and, after extensive searches, could not be found. A three dimensional flight track was reconstructed using recorded radar data. The data indicated that in the last 60 sec the aircraft slowed from 170 to 95 KTS, gained 500 ft in altitude, and turned left 190 degrees before abruptly disappearing from radar. Flight tests indicated that the movements of the aircraft in the last 60 sec of the flight were consistent with a loss of the left engine, without compensation by the pilot. The operator's training program did not provide for night or instrument flight conditions. The last documented instrument time for the pilot was 15 months prior during a checkride. The pilot flew sporadic night flights. The pilot had previously flown during the day and was on his thirteenth hour of duty. Aircraft damage and injury index presumed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N712AN
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7652151
- Airframe hours
- 6,516
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Panorama Air Tours, doing business as Panorama Air Tours
- Registered owner
- Airtour Acquisition Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · December 6, 1987 · 46 hours before
- Departed
- HNL · Honolulu, HI
- Destination
- MKK · Molokai, HI
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,987 total · 617 in this make and model · 1,246 as pilot in command · 260 in the last 90 days · 69 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HNL, 31 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.