PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) - The crash of a small plane in waters near Port Angeles, Washington, in late January that killed a Kodiak man occurred after the plane apparently ran out of fuel a few miles from an airport, The National Transportation Safety Board said.
The agency said in a report of preliminary findings Feb. 18 that the Cessna 170A airplane with only the pilot aboard left Kodiak on Jan. 25, then refueled and departed from Ketchikan on Jan. 26.
The man texted his mother that afternoon saying a severe headwind was causing concern about whether he had enough fuel to complete the flight, according to the report. He tried to make it to Port Angeles, but broadcast a mayday call at 4:40 p.m. saying he was “ditching” near a boat that was towing a barge.
Authorities have not named the pilot, but the aircraft registration and family members who spoke to the Kodiak Daily Mirror identified the plane’s owner and pilot as 38-year-old Sean M. Hayes, of Kodiak.
The NTSB says the pilot’s intended destination was Lake Havasu, Arizona.
The Coast Guard and Canadian rescue crews covered 1,170 square miles searching the waters northeast of Port Angeles for the plane before calling off the search.
Port Angeles is northwest of Seattle on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
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