Pilot Likely Suffered From Hypoxia, Did Not Notice

New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority says a series of fatal errors led to the loss of a Pacific Aerospace Corporation 750XL off the coast of California three years ago.

In its report on the December 26, 2003 accident, the CAA states 58-year-old Kelvin Stark flew at 14,000 feet without supplementary oxygen as he ferried the single-engine turboprop from its New Zealand factory to California -- and was likely suffering from hypoxia, and severe fatigue.

That, in turn, likely caused him to overlook or discount the fact his plane was losing fuel on the last leg of his trip until it was too late.

The board also found a groundperson in Hawaii alerted Stark his plane was losing fuel out of one of its fuel caps... but Stark replied, "It's okay, it will stop as soon as I start up and taxi."

Eight hours later, Stark ditched the plane into the Pacific. Sadly, the pilot paid for the apparent oversight with his life... but Pacific Aerospace managing director Brian Hare says he hopes some good will come from the CAA's findings.

Hare says the company has changed the fuel cap to an anti-siphoning design... and added warnings about the single-engine turboprop's fuel system to flight manuals.

FMI: www.caa.govt.nz, www.aerospace.co.nz