- A Boeing 737-200 cargo airplane was forced to land in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii early on Friday.
- The FAA has since reported that both crew members were rescued from the water.
- Transair Flight 810 took off from Honolulu at 1:33 a.m. local time, however, quickly sought to return to Honolulu.
HONOLULU, Hawaii: A Boeing 737-200 cargo airplane with two people on board was forced to land in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii early on Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA has since reported that both crew members were rescued from the water.
“The pilots had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the aircraft in the water,” the FAA said in a statement.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have begun an investigation of the incident.
Transair Flight 810 took off from Honolulu at 1:33 a.m. local time, bound for Maui’s Kahului airport, however, quickly sought to return to Honolulu, according to aviation data from FlightAware.com.
Shortly after, the Coast Guard reported that the 737 had landed in the waters south of the island of Oahu with two pilots on board. Around 2:30 a.m. a Coast Guard helicopter located one of the crew members clinging to the plane’s tail.
The other pilot was spotted on top of packages that were floating, and was picked up by a Honolulu Fire Department rescue boat.
LiveATC, the audio streaming site that broadcasts air traffic control communications, reported one of the pilots telling the control tower in Honolulu, “We’ve lost number one engine. We are going to need the fire department … We’re going to lose the other engine, too. It’s running very hot.”
The 737 aircraft was built in 1975, according to FAA records. Boeing has said it is in contact with government investigators as they seek to determined what caused the crash.
The plane was equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines. Pratt & Whitney said it was also assisting the NTSB’s investigation.
Transair is one of Hawaii’s largest air cargo carriers. It has a fleet of five Boeing 737s that deliver cargo to all major Hawaiian island destinations.
