ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 N242CA Hilo, HI, USA
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Saturday 12 April 1997
Time:22:04 HST
Type:Silhouette image of generic DHC6 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300
Operator:Corporate Air
Registration: N242CA
MSN: 342
First flight: 1972
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:117 km (73.1 mls) NE off Hilo, HI, USA (   Pacific Ocean)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Oakland International Airport, CA (OAK/KOAK), United States of America
Destination airport:Honolulu International Airport, HI (HNL/PHNL), United States of America
Narrative:
The Twin Otter aircraft departed Oakland at 10:50 PST for a ferry flight to Honolulu. For this flight the aircraft had been equipped with four ferry fuel tanks in addition to the normal forward and aft internal aircraft tanks. The pilot stated that at 18:00 PST (7 hours and 10 minutes into the flight), the estimated time to fuel depletion was found to be 8 hours and 40 minutes, with a time to go to destination of 7 hours and 40 minutes. Three hours later, the pilot determined that he was fuel critical due to unforecast headwinds. He declared a low fuel emergency and changed his intended destination to Hilo, HI. He also requested Coast Guard assistance at that time. Approximately 4 hours later, the pilot elected to ditch under power rather than remain airborne until fuel depletion.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's inadequate en route fuel consumption calculations, which led to his failure to recognize a deteriorating fuel duration versus time-to-go situation in a more timely way"

Classification:
Ditching

Sources:
» NTSB Identification: LAX97LA157
» Scramble 216


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Oakland International Airport, CA to Honolulu International Airport, HI as the crow flies is 3848 km (2405 miles).

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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