Two dead from ‘fatal injuries’ in horror plane crash off the California coast
The Coast Guard found the submerged plane yesterday and confirmed the pilot and co-pilot had "suffered fatal injuries".
A small plane headed for Hawaii crashed into the Pacific over the weekend, killing the two people onboard.
The Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter crashed around 2.15pm Saturday in the water about 40 miles (64 km) off the coast of Half Moon Bay, California, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.
The US Coast Guard found the submerged plane yesterday “and confirmed the pilot and co-pilot suffered fatal injuries". Officials said they were the only people onboard.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the turboprop aircraft was en route from Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, to Honolulu.
The DHC-6-400 Twin Otter is a utility aircraft that seats 19 passengers, according to the Viking Air website.
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Crews are working to recover the plane. The NTSB and the FAA Administration will investigate.
Although it’s uncommon for such a small plane to attempt to cross the Pacific, it is possible usually with some modifications such as an auxiliary fuel tank.
In 1997, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated a crash involving a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter which was flying from Oakland to Honolulu.
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During the flight, the pilot realised he did not have enough fuel to complete the journey and attempted to turn around to land at Hilo. He was instead forced to ditch into the Pacific Ocean.
In that case, the pilot was able to land on the water and was rescued by the Coast Guard before the plane sank. The board later said that the incident was likely due to the pilot’s “inadequate” fuel consumption calculations.
Half Moon Bay is a coastal community about 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco.
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