Investigation into B737-200 freighter crash underway

The investigation into Friday’s Transair freighter crash off the coast of Hawaii is underway as more details of the incident emerge.

The US National Transportation Safety Board said the first team of investigators arrived at the site on Friday, with more joining on Saturday.

The investigators are in the process of identifying the exact location of the aircraft on the ocean floor before the cockpit voice and flight data recorders can be recovered.

Meanwhile investigators are scheduling interviews with flight 810’s two pilots, air traffic controllers and Transair maintenance employees.

“In general terms, NTSB investigators develop factual information in three areas: the people involved in an accident, the equipment involved in the accident and the environment in which the accident occurred,” the board said.

Transair flight 810, a Boeing 737-200, ditched in the waters of Mamala Bay near Honolulu, shortly after takeoff from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii last Friday.

The flight was bound for Kahului International Airport. Both members of the two-person flight crew were injured and were rescued by the US Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department. The airplane was substantially damaged and sank.

According to Air Cargo News sister title, FlightGlobal, air-ground communications indicate that the aircraft was suffering engine failure, and unable to hold altitude as the crew attempted to return to Honolulu.

However, the precise circumstances of the accident have yet to be determined.

The publication reports that shortly after the twinjet – operated by Rhoades Aviation for Transair – had departed Honolulu and been cleared to 13,000 ft, the pilots informed air traffic control that the aircraft had “lost an engine”.

The aircraft subsequently began to lose height and the crew, flying in darkness over water, sought north-east headings to return to Honolulu, informing the controller that the left-hand engine had failed and they were “going to lose the other engine, it’s running very hot”.

A 737-200 cargo aircraft operated for Transair by Rhoades Aviation made an emergency landing in the water near Honolulu after reportedly suffering engine trouble. The FAA reports that both crew members have been rescued. ADS-B data is available at https://t.co/lsdJ4WlkHy pic.twitter.com/8D71tEQ3wy

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 2, 2021