M. R. Aircraft Sales %26 Rental

Beechcraft 65 Queen Air

About 1 hour after departure and 15 minutes after reaching the cruising altitude of 9,000 feet, the left engine quit. The flight crew feathered the left propeller and turned toward the closest airport which was 80 miles away. The aircraft would not maintain altitude and entered a 500 foot per minute descent. About 20 minutes after engine failure the aircraft was ditched in the ocean about 50 miles from the closest airport. The flight crew and passengers were rescued the following morning and the aircraft was not recovered. The second pilot and owner of the aircraft stated the aircraft was about 90 pounds over the maximum allowable weight at the time of departure. The previous owner of the aircraft stated that both engines had exceeded the recommended overhaul time by about 450 flight hours.