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The ditching of a Cessna 421C off the Sunshine Coast in 2023 was “inevitable” following its engine failure, the ATSB says.
VH-VPY was on a ferry flight to Pago Pago in American Samoa when it lost an engine and was forced to come down in the ocean about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Queensland on the morning of 10 November, 2023.
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According to the ATSB’s final report, the Cessna had been fitted with two extra fuel tanks – one large (1,134 litre) bladder tank in the main cabin, and a smaller (132 litre) tank in the nose locker – to make the flight, and had required a waiver to operate beyond its maximum take-off weight.
The aircraft had reached 250km offshore and was climbing through 12,000 feet when the pilots heard a loud bang as the left engine failed, with oil visibly streaming out and a “large bulge” in the cowling. Due to the engine failure, the pilots were unable to feather the propeller, adding drag.
Though the pilots turned back, they calculated that they would be unable to reach land based on the rate of their descent, and contacted air traffic control.
“The drag from the propeller combined with the weight of the fuel onboard meant a ditching was unavoidable as the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude on one engine,” Dr Stuart Godley, ATSB director of transport safety, said.
“The pilots’ chances of surviving the ditching were enhanced by their early liaison with air traffic control and their preparation of the aircraft during its descent.”
The pilots were able to control the Cessna’s attitude as it came in to ditch, slowing airspeed and avoiding a nose-down position, and safely deployed a life raft before exiting the plane. The aircraft later sank and was unrecoverable.
“The pilots reported the aircraft initially skimmed the crest of a wave before it rapidly decelerated when the nose pitched into the water,” Godley said.
“Impact forces during the ditching were minimised by the pilots ensuring the descent and airspeeds were managed prior to their contact with the water.”
Investigators found that the aircraft was not compliant with the special conditions for the ferry flight, nor did the pilots hold necessary licence ratings and approvals.
“While these factors did remove important safety defences, they did not contribute to the engine failure and the need to conduct the ditching,” Godley said.
“Nonetheless, operating outside of aviation regulations removes built-in safety defences, increasing the likelihood that undetected problems can emerge.”
LifeFlight was able to winch both men out of the water, at which point they were taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with no major injuries reported, an outcome rescue aircrew officer Dan King said was “incredible”.
“It’s not every day that you are tasked to a light plane that has confirmed that it knew it was going to ditch,” King said.
“We knew we were going to a plane that had ditched into the ocean, but we had no idea what to expect, fortunately as we approached, we could see the men and the life raft.”
