A 1987-built, Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster was operating a cargo flight between San Juan-Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (Puerto Rico) and Saint Kitts-Golden Rock Airport (St. Kitts and Nevis). The aircraft departed Puerto Rico at 10:49 lt (local time) and climbed to FL110.
The aircraft shortly after it ditched, before it sank (source baaa-acro.com © Unknown) 50 minutes later a slow descent was initiated to FL100, at 11:53 lt,(at FL100) as the aircraft was near the DANDE waypoint white smoke entered the cabin. The pilot (sole occupant of the aircraft) immediately donned his oxygen mask. The pilot observed an increase in engine temperature and the (engine) oil low quantity light illuminating while the aircraft entered a 600-800 ft/min descent. A short while later oil splattered over the windscreen, restricting the pilots' forward visibility. A course change to the North-East was initiated for a diversion to Saba (Special Municipality of the Netherlands). A short while later, at an altitude of ~8000 feet, the engine (Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A) failed and the propellor auto-feathered. An engine restart was attempted but was unsuccessful. As the runway at Saba was on the opposite side of Mount Scenery (2910 feet/887 meters) the pilot initiated a ditching, contacting the water approximately half a mile (800 meters) of the Saba coast. The pilot exited the aircraft and was rescued by passersby on a boat. The aircraft subsequently sank in 1500 feet of water.
The aircraft in better days (source; baaa-acro.com © Yan David)
The Dutch Safety Board decided (based on statements by the pilot) not
to investigate the accident and assumed that the cause of the accident was an engine failure as a result of a catastrophic loss of engine oil. The aircraft was not recovered.
** Editorial note **
V2 Aviation - Training & Maintenance has not been able to obtain an investigation report on this accident as it was not fully investigated by the relevant authorities. Only statements of the pilot flying were used in a quarterly report by the Dutch Safety Board. This blog is therefore based on these statements and several internet sources. Should there be an inconsistency in the blog don't hesitate to get in touch with us. There are two possibilities to do that, via the comments function at the bottom of this page or via the contact page of the website.