N60020

The active duty military pilot rented the airplane, while on leave, for a flight from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the island of Maui, and return. He received a checkout flight (1.2 hours) in the aircraft the day before. The pilot topped off the fuel tanks, which gave him 22.5 gallons useable, before the flight. The flight over was uneventful, but on his return flight, he lost total engine power at 2,000 feet, approximately 10 nautical miles east of his destination. The pilot described the power loss as follows: "The engine smoothly 'rolled back' in RPM to something less than cruise power as if power was simply reduced. It ran smoothly with no inconsistency for approximately one minute, and then completely stopped." He successfully ditched the aircraft into the Pacific Ocean. The two occupants exited the aircraft with an inflatable raft and were rescued.

Air traffic control tower records indicate that the pilot's flight time to Maui was 1 hour, 34 minutes, and his return flight from takeoff to ditching was 45 minutes. The airplane's fuel consumption rate should have been between 6 and 7 gallons per hour. The airplane sank in deep water, and was not recovered.