Alpine Air pilot Paul Akita, 38, of O'ahu, was in a plane that crashed into the ocean yesterday about seven miles southeast of Lihu'e Airport. Courtesy of Ryan Miller, Hawaiian Fire Inc.

Alpine Air pilot Paul Akita, 38, of Honolulu, was the lone occupant of the twin-engine turboprop Beechcraft King Air 1900 carrying about 4,200 pounds of mail on a regularly scheduled flight between Honolulu and Kaua'i.

The flight departed Honolulu at 4:43 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Lihu'e at 5:15 a.m. The plane is believed to have made a sudden descent and disappeared off FAA radar at 5:08 a.m.

Coast Guard rescue crews recovered parts of the plane, 45 bags of mail, an inflated life raft, a shoe and a flight bag, but air and sea searches yesterday and today failed to locate the pilot, said Lt. John Titchen.

He said the Coast Guard had "exhausted" the search area, with aircraft and vessels "scouring" a 200-square-mile grid based on wind and sea currents.

The search was suspended at 2 p.m. after no additional debris had been found since early this morning.

Titchen said search conditions improved today, with seas at 4 to 6 feet and easterly winds of 15 knots.

The debris from the downed plane was taken to Nawiliwili Harbor to be transferred to officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, who will investigate the cause of the crash.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Duke Gonzales said about 10 percent of the mail shipment was retrieved, but it was still uncertain how much of it is salvageable. Most of the shipment was Priority Mail consisting of parcels and large envelopes.

Alpine Air, headquartered in Provo, Utah, is subcontracted by Postal Service contractor Corporate Air to fly mail to several destinations within the state, including Molokai, Kalaupapa, Lanai and Waimea on the Big Island.