Cause of plane crash in '04 still unknown

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

Federal investigators have been unable to determine what caused the engine failure that forced a commercial pilot to ditch his private plane in the ocean 25 miles from Lihu'e, Kaua'i, last year.

Pilot Bob Justman, 57, said he suffered only a sore back in the forced landing on Jan. 18, 2004.

Justman said the U.S. Coast Guard told him his plane sank in 1,500 feet of water, which meant investigators were unable to recover the wreckage to examine the engine.

Other pilots have contacted Justman to suggest the ignition he was using on the single-engine Scott RV-8A might have been to blame, but he will never know for sure.

"If I could have recovered the airplane, I could have found out exactly what happened," he said.

Justman was flying solo from Honolulu to Lihu'e to visit an ill family member when the experimental aircraft lost power shortly before 9 a.m.

He set the plane down at a speed of almost 60 mph, and the impact flipped the aircraft.

"The airplane just stopped. It stopped so fast it was unbelievable," he said.

He struggled to open the canopy, which had slammed shut when the plane struck the ocean surface, and was able to escape with a life vest and an emergency locator beacon.

The plane sank within three minutes, and Coast Guard rescuers arrived to collect Justman about 40 minutes later, he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a final report on the crash last week that found the engine "lost partial power for undetermined reasons."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.