Suminski COZY LONG EZ N534S

Summary

On 17 November 2003 at about 07:15 local time, a Suminski COZY LONG EZ registered N534S, operated by William B. Swears, was involved in an accident near Maui, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 November 2003 at 07:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Maui, Hawaii, United States

Coordinates

21.0000, -155.0000

Aircraft

Suminski COZY LONG EZ

Registration

N534S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

William B. Swears

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honolulu → Novato

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX04LA046

1 person was seriously injured.

The loss of engine power during cruise flight for an undetermined reason, which resulted in an emergency descent and ditching.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine lost power during cruise over the ocean, and the pilot ditched the airplane. The airplane was at 12,000 feet mean sea level (msl) when the engine began to experience variations of 100 rpm. The variations smoothed when the pilot adjusted the mixture, and he initially thought the variations were due to carburetor icing. After a few minutes, the conditions worsened and he turned the airplane toward an island located approximately 175 nm away. The oil pressure decreased to about 40 psi. The pilot announced a "MAYDAY" call when he realized that the oil pressure was still decreasing. The pilot began a low-powered descent, and began pumping oil into the engine using a hand pump that he had installed prior to the flight. The oil pressure decreased to 5 to 10 psi. When the airplane was at 4,000 feet msl, about 90 nm northeast of Kahalui, the engine seized. The pilot then ditched the airplane in the ocean, and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him several hours later. Part of the airframe and the engine washed ashore on a beach about 30 days after the accident. Inspection of the remaining parts of the engine disclosed no definitive evidence of what precipitated the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.