It Paid Off! Retired USCG Pilot Alive

"He's in wonderful condition."

That's how USCG Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson rates pilot William Swears, whose single-engine airplane was forced down about 94 miles off the coast of Maui Saturday. An all-out search effort was launched after Swears reported his Cozy Canard Pusher (file photo of aircraft type, below) suffered engine trouble about 9pm local time. He then apparently lost a great deal of altitude in a very short period of time. Two ANG F-15s, a Coast Guard C-130 and an HH-65 Dolphin were dispatched to his last known location.

"I don't know if he crashed," said USCG Petty Officer Brooksann Anderson, "but it was a sharp enough drop in altitude to get us all out there."

That kind of thinking paid off. The F-15s reported seeing an oil slick. More importantly, they picked up his EPRIB (emergency positioning indicating radio beacon) signal. Rescue crews quickly zeroed in.

Turns out Swears is a retired USCG pilot. He used to fly the HH-65 -- the aircraft that rescued him at around 12:30am Sunday morning. Swears had been stationed at Barbers Point Air Station.

** Report created 11/17/2003 Record 11 **
IDENTIFICATION
 Regis#: 534S Make/Model: COZ Description: COZY LONG EZ
 Date: 11/16/2003 Time: 0720 
 Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
 Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
 City: MAUI State: HI Country: US

DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT REPORTED ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE AND LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE AND DITCHED INTO THE OCEAN, PILOT WAS RESCUED, AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, 100 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MAUI, HI

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
 # Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: # Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
 # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: METAR 0652Z OGG 050011KTS 10SM FEW031 BKN050 24/19 3012 
OTHER DATA
 Activity: Unknown Phase: Cruise Operation: General Aviation
 Departed: HONOLULU, HI Dep Date: 11/16/2003 Dep. Time: 0351
 Destination: NOVATO, CA Flt Plan: IFR Wx Briefing: U
 Last Radio Cont: UNK  Last Clearance: UNK
 FAA FSDO: HONOLULU, HI (WP13) Entry date: 11/17/2003

FMI: www.uscg.mil/d14/units/msohono