HONOLULU — A pilot said he was was performing a stunt in his single-engine, two-seat plane when he lost power and crashed into the ocean in Hawaii.
HONOLULU — A pilot said he was was performing a stunt in his single-engine, two-seat plane when he lost power and crashed into the ocean in Hawaii.
Pilot Claus Hansen, 57, was not injured in the Thursday crash off Oahu. He told KITV that he sent a message on the radio just before crashing into the water.
“I lost partial power. I kept trying to nurse the throttle,” he said. “I radioed then looked for a place to set down. I spotted a big field but it had antennae and wires.”
“The prop that hit the water first split apart,” Hansen said.
He then got out of the plane and swam to shore. The plane was about 50 yards (45 meters) offshore, according to KITV. Other local media reported it was closer to 200 yards (182 meters) out.
“I opened the canopy, stepped out, stood on the wing,” Hansen said. “It was sinking. I stepped into the water.”
Hansen will work with the U.S. Coast Guard to salvage the plane, which is in about 10 feet (3 meters) of water.
“As far as I can tell, the airplane was intact,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a 1982 Yakovlev Yak-52, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Federal officials will investigate the crash.
He made it out. Did he need medical care? Or just one of those tough guns?
So we know the plane was in only 10 feet of water. The pilot says he was just 50 yds off shore when he went down? That makes sense! But the media says the plane crashed more that 200 yds. off shore? IN 10 FT. OF WATER? That’s one hell of a reef, or, just more of the fake news that has become so destructive for all of us!