Fuel Too Low to Search for Boat, Pilot Says

The Coast Guard pilot who decided not to investigate a distress signal from the ill-fated Fish-n-Fool defended his actions at a hearing Monday, saying his plane was too low on fuel to make a search.

Lt. James Stinson said he had no way of knowing that the alarm he picked up on Feb. 6 was coming from a vessel that had capsized off the coast of Mexico resulting in the loss of 10 of the 12 persons aboard.

Stinson said he heard an emergency location transmitter (ELT) on a distress frequency while flying near San Quintin while on his way to La Paz, Mexico, where he was to deliver aircraft parts for a joint law enforcement operation with the Mexican government,

The 12-year Coast Guard veteran said he advised officials in Long Beach to have another aircraft investigate the signal--which turned out to be from the Fish-n-Fool--because ELTs are commonly heard by radio operators up and down the California coast.

Stinson told reporters that it wasn’t appropriate for him to cancel the delicate mission he was on, which, he said, was already seven hours behind schedule when he picked up the distress signal at about 2:30 p.m.

A Coast Guard spokesman who spoke to reporters with Stinson likened an ELT signal to a “smoke alarm,” saying they go off frequently and are often not serious.

ELTs are required on all commercial vessels and aircraft, and they often go off accidentally causing an annoyance to military personnel who monitor radio distress frequencies, Lt. (j.g.) John Sullivan said.

“When a pilot hears an ELT, he thinks, ‘Oh, no, not one of those again,’ ” Sullivan said.

“There are four airports (near San Quintin). . . . An ELT can go off if a pilot lands a plane too hard,” Sullivan said.

Because a diplomatic clearance with the Mexican government would have been necessary if Stinson had decided to cancel his mission, it was decided that he continue to La Paz, Sullivan said.

Also, Stinson would have had to return to San Diego to refuel had he been ordered to begin a search and rescue mission, Sullivan said.

The Coast Guard dispatched another aircraft to the area of the distress signal and rescued Fish-n-Fool crew member Cathy Compton and passenger Jim Sims, the only survivors.

The body of George Marius Stinson, 41, of Orange, was recovered by the Coast Guard; but no trace was found of Kenneth T. Baldwin, 65, Huntington Beach; Gary Arthur Lamont, 44, of Spring Valley, the skipper; Terry Drake Milam, 37, Norco; Scott Milliron, 21, Lakeside; Robert Scott (Rusty) Paxton, 40, La Sierra; Max G. Pfost, 52 Riverside; Steven Michael Rhoads, 26, Hawthorne; Kent Roger Springman, 37, Chino, and Timothy Paul York, 24, Huntington Beach.

Monday’s Coast Guard Marine Board hearing was the third day of testimony on the Fish-n-Fool tragedy.