The pilot of a Cessna 206, with one passenger, was tracking for
Ceduna via Naracoorte and Kangaroo Island, SA.
At 1020 CSuT, the pilot advised air traffic control that the
aircraft engine had failed and he would have to ditch the aircraft
in the ocean. The controller asked the pilot to switch on the
transponder and press the `ident' button. He subsequently
identified the aircraft at about 33 NM south of Victor Harbor, SA
at an altitude of 7,500 feet. The controller estimated that the
aircraft was descending at about 1,000 feet per minute. Radar
contact ceased at 1027 as the aircraft was descending through 1,400
feet.
After the first transmission from the pilot, the controller
asked the crew of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft to
divert to the area to assist with search and rescue. The RAAF
aircraft located the passenger in the ocean and remained in the
area until a helicopter arrived and winched him aboard. The pilot
was not found.
The Cessna 206 was not carrying a life raft, nor was it required
to.
The passenger later said that the aircraft engine was operating
normally until it suddenly made a loud grinding sound and the
propeller stopped rotating. The cockpit then filled with smoke. The
pilot tried unsuccessfully to restart the engine. The passenger
fitted life jackets to himself and the pilot. On contact with the
water the aircraft overturned and rapidly filled with water. The
passenger was unable to sight the pilot so he made his way to the
surface and inflated his life jacket.
Examination of the aircraft was not possible as it sank without
trace.
The passenger said that, just before the engine failed, the
aircraft fuel tank gauges indicated about 3/4 in the right tank and
1/4 in the left tank. Examination of fuel records indicated the
aircraft should have had sufficient fuel at the time of the
accident. Records also indicated the aircraft had not been
refuelled with contaminated fuel in late 1999 and consequently was
not subject to an airworthiness directive that required the
complete cleaning and flushing of the fuel system.
Examination of the aircraft maintenance records indicated that
on 10 April 1995, about 339 flight hours before the accident, the
crankcase, sump, camshaft and a connecting rod assembly were
replaced due to a connecting rod failure, with components assessed
as serviceable by an engineer.
At about 132 flight hours before the accident, on 03 September
1998, a replacement engine cylinder assembly was fitted.
On 23 September 1999, a new propeller and two serviceable engine
cylinder assemblies were fitted following a propeller strike. The
aircraft had then flown for about 56 hours before the accident.
Four days prior to the accident, on 04 March 2000, the aircraft
had undergone a routine 100 hourly maintenance check. At the time
of the accident, the aircraft would have completed about six hours
flight time since the maintenance check.
The reason for the reported engine failure could not be
determined.