Owner of plane that crashed off of Lanai says pilots followed proper water-landing protocols By Rick Daysog | February 28, 2021 at 5:37 PM HST - Updated March 1 at 7:04 AM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The owner of the single-engine plane that crashed into the waters near Lanai Saturday said that the two men on board were flying in windy conditions and executed “a proper water landing.”
The two men involved in the crash had prior experience flying aircrafts. One was an instructor and the other was a pilot working on advancing his credentials.
They had taken off in a DA40 Diamond Star aircraft Saturday afternoon for a training exercise.
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Two Oahu pilots were apparently doing “fine” after suffering “minor injuries” in a single-engine plane crash off Lanai Saturday evening.
The crash occurred around 5:50 p.m. Saturday in waters 3 miles west of Lanai City, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the incident.
Shortly before the crash at 5:49 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said that Joint Rescue Coordination Center watchstanders received a report from Honolulu Control Facility stating an aircraft was experiencing engine trouble and was likely going to ditch in the water. Air traffic control put out the word to other pilots to be on the lookout for the aircraft, a single-engine Diamond DA40 being rented out for flight instruction.