Grumman G-64 Albatross

The crew departed Elizabeth City CGAS in North Carolina to deploy weather buoys in the Atlantic Ocean. Several landings were completed successfully. While taking off, the seaplane struck an unkknown object floating on water and came to rest some 680 km east off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. All five crew members evacuated the cabin and were later recovered by the crew of a container vessel. The aircraft sank and was lost.

The pilot stated that during the landing gear retraction he heard a loud bang, followed by three to four smaller bangs. The first officer confirmed that the left engine was the affected engine and immediately began feathering the propeller. Once the propeller had been feathered, the captain confirmed the action by looking outside and noticing the propeller in the feathered position. The captain further reported that the right engine was producing the maximum power available and was indicating 55 inches of manifold pressure. Unable to achieve airspeed of greater than 95 to 96 knots indicated, the captain attempted to return to the airport for an emergency landing; however, he was unable to maintain altitude and attempted to land on an airport perimeter road, impacting the airport fence and a sand berm in the process. A cursory examination of the engine and system components revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction.

It is believed that the aircraft was engaged in an illegal mission and was tracked by Mexican Authorities. It crashed in unknown circumstances on the beach of La Ventanilla near Mazunte. A crew member was killed while two others escaped.

According to the pilot, during climb-out from runway 09 at an altitude of approximately 500 feet the right engine warning red magnetic chip detector light illuminated. The pilot decided to shut down the right engine and return to the airport. Shortly after making that decision the left engine began to lose power. The airplane was unable to maintain altitude, and the pilot prepared to make an off-airport emergency landing in a field. The airplane collided with the trees as the pilot maneuvered for the emergency landing. Examination of the airframe, and flight controls revealed no anomalies. Examination of the left and right engine revealed no mechanical anomalies. Examination of cockpit fuel selector controls revealed that the left engine fuel selector handle was in the off position and the right engine fuel selector handle was set in the left tank position. During the in-flight engine secure procedures the pilot is required to place the inoperative engine fuel selector in the off position.

The seaplane departed Tulum on a flight to Chetumal with three people on board. On approach to Chetumal Airport in good weather conditions, the pilot was cleared to land on runway 10 and initiated a left turn when control was slot. The aircraft rolled to the left, lost height and crashed 6 km short of the runway, bursting into flames. All three occupants were killed.

During cruise flight the accident aircraft lost oil pressure in the n°2 engine. Flight could not be sustained using the remaining engine. According to the pilot, the remaining engine would overheat when power was applied. The crew descended to just above the water and tried to fly the aircraft in ground effect, but to no avail. They elected to ditch the aircraft. During the landing, the aircraft received substantial damage and was almost immediately flooded, causing the aircraft to sink. The crew escaped, but did not have time to retrieve emergency gear. They were rescued after about 20 hours in the water. Evidence revealed that the pilot did not have a pilot's certificate. No evidence could be found to indicate that the pilot had any experience in the accident aircraft or with any sea plane. Since the aircraft sank, a cause for the engine problems could not be determined.