Eerie photos of the wreckage of a Boeing 737 cargo plane that was forced to ditch in the sea off Hawaii because of engine failure have been released by the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Transair Flight 810 sent a mayday signal on July 2, shortly after taking off from Daniel K Inouye International Airport at Honolulu on the island of Oahu for Kahului on Maui.
One of the two pilots – the only crew aboard – said that one jet engine failed and the second was “running very hot”.
Air traffic control lost radio contact with the plane after the crew asked if there was a nearby runway they could use for an emergency landing.
Both pilots survived the crash landing at sea. One clung to the tail of the plane, which sank shortly before he was rescued by the coastguard.
Both pilots were seriously injured, and one of the men is in critical condition in hospital.
The plane sank to 130 metres, too deep for divers to investigate.
Sonar helped to find the wreck, while investigators sent a remotely operated submarine to capture images of the aircraft.
A company statement said flights of its Boeing 737 cargo planes would be grounded until it could be determined what caused the engines to fail.
The aircraft had been in service for 46 years, and investigators think that may have been a factor in the engine failures.
“Transair has voluntarily chosen not to operate our Boeing 737 cargo aircraft temporarily while we assess the situation and continue to co-operate with federal authorities in their investigation,” the company said.
