The airplane piloted by Maui baker Jose Krall was flying by visual flight rules at night from Maui to Molokai in 2012 and appeared to be going in the wrong direction shortly before it disappeared from the radar tracking system, a federal investigation into his fatal crash reported April 2.

Krall, 51, the owner of Maui Bake Shop & Deli, was the sole occupant of the single-engine Cessna 172S when his airplane crashed in the ocean about six minutes into flight and about 5 miles from the Kahului Airport at 7 p.m. Dec. 1, 2012.

Krall had 785 hours of flying time — a length of experience that, according to retired Hawaii flight instructor Phil Olsen, would make him still an "apprentice" pilot.

In an interview, Olsen said experienced pilots generally fly by navigational instruments at night in the Hawaiian Islands.

"Visual flight rules go out after dark," said Olsen, who taught flight instruction at Honolulu Community College.

Krall and his wife, Claire, operated a bakery in Wailuku.

Shortly before the accident, an air traffic control specialist noted an erratic flight pattern, that the airplane was flying northeast, away from Krall’s intended destination, and the controller contacted Krall, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Krall declined help and informed the controller that he planned to make a right 360-degree turn and track inbound, the report said.

The report said instead of a right 360-degree turn, the airplane radar track showed a left descending turn and the plane was then lost from the radar.

The report said the airplane and pilot were not located, and as a result an autopsy and toxicology could not be performed.