Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

On April 3, 2002, about 1210 eastern standard time, a Cessna 402B, N768WC, registered to and operated by Southstream Aviation, Inc., was ditched in Coral Harbor Lake, southwest of the Nassau International Airport, Nassau, Bahamas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a VFR flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight to Bimini, Bahamas. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial-rated pilot and a passenger were not injured. The flight originated about 6 minutes earlier from the Nassau International Airport. According to the passenger who is a U.S. certificated pilot, the airplane was fueled before takeoff. He checked the fuel tanks for contaminants after fueling; none were found. The flight departed from runway 14, then when turning on course to Bimini, the left engine sputtered. The pilot reduced then increased power from the left engine which then quit. He noted at that time the manifold and fuel pressure indications were decreasing. The pilot then turned back towards the Nassau airport to return when the right engine quit. Unable to return to the airport, the pilot ditched the airplane in the lake; the airplane remained upright in the approximately 1-4 feet deep water. Both occupants exited the airplane unaided. The accident site was located approximately 2.6 nautical miles southwest of the Nassau International Airport.

The crew had originally planned to practice landings at an airport about 20 minutes away, then stop, refuel the airplane, and subsequently return to the original departure airport. Prior to the flight, the crew discussed fuel endurance, which was calculated to be 2 hours based on the captain's knowledge of the airplane's fuel consumption, and the quantity of fuel indicated on the gauges. The fuel tanks were not dipped. The flight was made at 1,500 feet msl. Upon reaching the practice airport, the crew conducted one full stop landing, then taxied back for takeoff. During takeoff, an engine had a momentary overspeed, and the crew decided to return to the original departure airport without refueling. Approaching the original departure airport, the airplane had to delay landing for about 7 minutes for a manual gear extension. Upon completion, it turned back toward the airport, and was about 6 miles from the runway when fuel pressure for one of the engines dropped. The boost pumps were turned on; however, the engine lost power. A low fuel pressure light then illuminated for another engine. The captain called for the flight engineer to switch fuel feed to another tank, but the flight engineer responded, "we're out of fuel." The remaining engines subsequently lost power, and the captain ditched the airplane into a bay. The time from first takeoff until ditching was 1 hour, 19 minutes. The airplane had flown 39 hours since restoration, and exact fuel capacities, fuel flow calculations and unusable fuel amounts had not been established. A dipping chart had been prepared, with one person in the cockpit and one person with a yardstick putting fuel in a main tank in 25-gallon increments. However, the data had not been verified, and dipping was not considered to be part of the pre-flight inspection.

Following an uneventful flight from Mogadishu, the crew started the descent to Djibouti City-Ambouli Airport. While the runway 09 was in use, the crew was cleared for an approach to runway 27. While completing a last turn to the left to join the glide, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in the sea. All four occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft was completing a charter flight from Caracas to Los Roques, carrying 12 passengers and two pilots, among them seven Italian tourists. Over the Los Roques Island, the crew encountered technical problems and attempted to ditch the aircraft off Larga Island. All 14 occupants were quickly rescued while the aircraft sank by a depth of four metres and was damaged beyond repair.

On January 18, 2002 at 1440 eastern standard time, a Britten-Norman BN2-A, N616GL, operated by Fly BVI Inc,. under the provision Title 14 CFR Part 135, as a sightseeing flight, ditched off Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, following a loss of engine power on both engines. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The air transport pilot and his passengers were not injured. The flight departed Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, at 1400. According to the pilot, during a sightseeing tour the airplane experience a total loss of power on both engines at the same time. The pilot contacted the Beef Island control tower and declared an emergency and gave his position report. He then stated his intentions to ditch the airplane off the coast of Beef Island, British Virgin Islands. The airplane came to rest in six feet of water near the shoreline. During the examination of the airplane by personnel from the Department of Civil Aviation, British Virgin Islands, approximately 23 gallons of fuel were discovered in each fuel tank.

On final approach to Nassau-Lynden Pindling Airport, the crew encountered engine problems. The aircraft lost height and crashed in the Lake Killarney near the airport. All five occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot stated that on the day of the accident he ordered fuel only on the first flight of the day. He said he did not add additional fuel during subsequent flights. He said he flew the accident airplane from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Chubb Cay, Bahamas, to Big Whale Cay, Bahamas, back to the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. He said he then departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport with his next load of passengers and flew to the North Eleuthera Airport, North Eleuthera, Bahamas, without having refueled, and was returning from North Eleuthera, Bahamas, to the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, when he ditched the airplane off Dania Beach, Florida, in the Atlantic Ocean. When asked whether the fuel on board the airplane had been exhausted, the pilot stated, " the way the engines were acting, it seemed like the airplane ran out of fuel." On scene examination of the airplane, as well as follow on examination of its engines revealed no pre accident anomalies with the airplane or its systems. Information obtained from the FAA showed that at 1757, the pilot contacted FAA Miami Approach Control and advised "minimum fuel, further stating that he was not declaring an emergency at that time. At 1758, the controller responded, passing communications control to the FAA Fort Lauderdale Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). In response to the pilot's initial communications call to the Fort Lauderdale ATCT, the pilot was given a clearance to land on runway 09R, and told that he was number one. At 1758:43, the pilot replied, asking if there was any chance of getting runway 27L, and at 1759:17, the controller instructed the pilot to descend at his discretion and remain slightly south of final for landing on runway 27L, and to expect 27L. At 1800:07, the pilot contacted the controller and stated, "two five yankee would like to declare an emergency at this time." At 1800:10, the controller responded, "two five yankee yes sir runway two seven left you are cleared to land the wind zero one zero at six." At 1800:16 the pilot responded acknowledging the wind report, and at 1800:27, the controller asked whether the nature of the emergency was minimum fuel, to which the pilot responded, "exactly two five yankee may be coming in dead stick. At 1800:40, the pilot stated that he had the airport in sight and will try to glide, and at 1801:32, the pilot said "two five yankee I'm going to be short of the shore." At 1802, the pilot ditched the airplane about 300 yards from the Dania Beach shoreline, in the area of John Lloyd State Park, in about 15 feet of water. The occupants of the airplane consisted of the pilot and four passengers. All exited the airplane and one passenger drowned in the Atlantic Ocean when according to the pilot "he was in a state of panic" when he tried to instruct him in the use of the life vest while they was in the water, and subsequently tried to use him for flotation when he tried to help him. All remaining passengers confirmed that the pilot had not given them any pre departure safety related briefing prior to or during the accident flight.

The departure from Bremerhaven to the Wangerooge Island was delayed for 30 minutes due to snow showers over the airport. Prior to departure, the pilot manually removed snow from the windshield, leading edge and wings. After takeoff from runway 34, the twin engine aircraft climbed slowly to a height of about 195 feet then stalled and crashed in the Weser River. The crew of a ferry was quickly on the scene to rescue a passenger while eight other occupants were killed.

While on a positioning flight from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen, both engines failed. The aircraft lost height and was ditched off Playa del Carmen. All four crew members were injured and rescued by the crew of the Mexican coast-guards while the aircraft sank and was lost.

The twin engine aircraft departed Taytay-Sandoval-Cesar Lim Rodriguez Airport on a charter flight to Manila, carrying one passenger and two pilots. While approaching Manila, the left engine failed. The crew informed ATC about his situation and continued the descent to Manila when, shortly later, the right engine lost power. Unable to maintain the assigned altitude, the crew attempted to ditch the aircraft in the bay of Manila, about 3 km offshore. The aircraft floated for few minutes, allowing all three occupants to evacuate the cabin. Few minutes later, the aircraft sank and all three occupants were rescued. The wreckage was not recovered.