Small plane disappears off northern Maui coast

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Coast Guard and the Air National Guard were searching off the northern shore of Maui last night for the pilot of a single-engine aircraft.

The pilot, who was apparently flying alone, told aviation officials shortly after 9 p.m. that his airplane was going down, said state transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

Petty Officer Brooksann Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, said the Air National Guard had dispatched two F-15s to the man's last known location, north by northeast of Maui.

The Air Guard fighters were on scene by 10 p.m. A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules arrived shortly afterward and two large cutters were in route. An HH65 Dolphin helicopter was standing by at Kahului airport.

Anderson said the pilot, who was flying a single-engine Cozy Canard Pusher, reported engine troubles in an emergency transmission over a general frequency.

The man's plane then "experienced a sharp drop in altitude," according to air traffic controllers, Anderson said.

"I don't know if he crashed," Anderson said, "but it was a sharp enough drop in altitude to get us all out there."

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.