Piper PA-31-350 accident near Hilo, HI
On August 26, 2000, a Piper PA-31-350 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hilo, HI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 26, 2000
- Place
- Hilo, HI
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 8 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 19.717°N, 155.033°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21754
Official records · LAX00FA310
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Transcripts and Data: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 25, 2000, at 1735 Hawaiian standard time, a Piper PA-31-350 twin engine airplane, N923BA, operated as Big Island Air flight number BI 57, was substantially damaged during an emergency ditching in the Pacific Ocean following a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. The pilot was attempting to land at the Hilo International Airport, Hilo, Hawaii, when the ditching occurred. One passenger received fatal injuries, while the commercial pilot and remaining 7 passengers received minor injuries. Big Island Air, Inc., was operating the airplane as a nonscheduled sightseeing tour under 14 CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The local flight originated from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, at 1700, and was en route to the Hilo area with a planned return to Kona, without landing at Hilo. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed and activated. The pilot reported that he was at 1,000 feet mean sea level (msl) near Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, when he felt the airplane yaw to the right, and noted that the right engine's manifold pressure had dropped to about 25 inches. He immediately switched from the right main fuel tank to the right auxiliary fuel tank and turned on the fuel boost pump. He then moved the throttles, propellers, and mixture controls full forward, and identified the right engine was not producing thrust. He shutdown the right engine by reducing the throttle to idle, bringing the mixture control into idle cutoff, and then by moving the propeller control into the feather positio
Probable cause
Deterioration and failure of the oil filter converter plate gasket, which resulted in a loss of engine power and a subsequent in-flight fire.
More accidents in HI
- Beech 65-A90, Jun 22, 2019
- Piper PA-31-350, Sep 26, 1999
- Boeing 747-122, Feb 24, 1989
- Beech E18S, Apr 23, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Dec 24, 1987
Browse: Hawaii · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
