Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Near Honolulu, Hawaii 96821
Sunday, January 9, 1983 17:05 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PLT & PASSENGERS DEPARTED ON A SIGHT-SEEING FLT TO VIEW A VOLCANO ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII VIA KONA, HI & RETURN. THE FUEL TANKS HAD BEEN TOPPED OFF BEFORE DEPARTURE, & REPORTEDLY, THERE WAS SUFFICIENT FUEL FOR THE FLT. EXCEPT FOR DIFFICULTIES IN STARTING THE ENGINE (WHICH REQUIRED A JUMPED START DUE TO A LOW BATTERY), THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL UNTIL THE ACFT WAS BETWEEN MOLOKAI & HONOLULU. AT THAT TIME, THE ENGINE SPUTTERED & BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. THE PLT MANAGED TO GET THE ENGINE RUNNING SMOOTHLY FOR A TIME BY ADJUSTING THE MIXTURE CONTROL, BUT THEN IT SPUTTERED AGAIN & QUIT RUNNING. THE ACFT WAS DITCHED IN THE OPEN SEA, & ABOUT 2 HRS LATER, THE OCCUPANTS WERE RESCUED BY THE COAST GUARD. THE ACFT SANK & WAS NOT RECOVERED.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/9/1983
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1705
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City NEAR HONOLULU
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96821
Event Date Year 1983
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 18
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 25
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 143
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 20303
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 9:15AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N32658
NTSB Number LAX83LJA04
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-151
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-151
Aircraft Serial Number 287515211
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 17 1982 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 1714
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ALBERT B. BAYS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 190 SOUTH KING ST., SUITE 2100
Aircraft Owner City HONOLULU
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96813
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JOHN E. SCHELESKI
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2426 ARMSTRONG STREET
Operator City HONOLULU
Operator State HI
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 96822
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HNL
Departure City HONOLULU
Departure State HI
Departure Country
Departure Time 1217
Departure Time Zone HST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KOA
Destination City KONA
Destination State HI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:36AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --