Legacy 737 Ditches Off Honolulu, Pilots Rescued (Updated)

Both pilots are reported to be safe, but seriously injured, after they ditched their Boeing 737 cargo plane off Honolulu early Friday. The FAA has confirmed that a Rhoades Express…

Both pilots are reported to be safe, but seriously injured, after they ditched their Boeing 737 cargo plane off Honolulu early Friday. The FAA has confirmed that a Rhoades Express 737 (operating as Transair Flight 810) hit the water about 2:30 a.m. local time shortly after leaving Honolulu. “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. “According to preliminary information the U.S Coast Guard rescued both crew members.” ATC tapes show the crew struggled to maintain altitude with one engine out and that the remaining engine was "running hot" before the plane hit the water about two miles from land. The crew had been trying to get to a small airport west of Honolulu that was slightly closer. The pilots were plucked from the water and taken to a hospital where one is in critical condition, the other serious.

The aircraft was was on a short flight to Kahului on Maui. The aircraft was a relatively rare first-generation 737-200 and was almost 46 years old. It was first delivered to Pacific Western Airlines in Canada in 1975. Rhodes has five 737-200s flying in Hawaii. The planes are too noisy for most North American and European airports with their turbojet engines but Hawaii has exemptions from noise standards for the old Boeings.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.