But also gone: the majority of 4,200 pounds of mail. Only a fraction was recovered from the downed Alpine Air flight, subcontracted by the U.S. Postal Service.

"Forty-five bags of mail were recovered from the ocean. That is about 25 percent of the bags," said Duke Gonzales, the spokesman for the Hawaii headquarters of the U.S. Postal Service.

But none of it will end up in the hands they were destined for on the island of Kauai.

Inspectors said all of the mail recovered Monday is waterlogged, crumbling, and soaked with jet fuel.

"Health and safety of our employees and customers comes first and so the certified industrial hygienist determined the best course, the safest course, was not to deliver the mail," said Gonzales.

Gonzales said  each mail bag holds an average 4 to 8 items inside, and with 200 of them lost in the ocean or completely damaged, up to 1,600 people may not be receiving their mail.

"Most of the mail was priority mail so it was likely not insured, so in those cases there really is no recourse for customers," said Gonzales.

The plane that went down was carrying packages, boxes, parcels and oversized envelopes.

The postal service said only two or three items were insured.

Gonzales said the vast majority of first class mail made it to Kauai safely that day on an earlier flight.

"So people who are expecting important checks, or are worried about missing a bill. they should not worry about that," said Gonzales.

Gonzales said he cannot remember a time when U.S. Postal Services in Hawaii lost so much mail, or had an accident that took the life of a pilot, whose body will likely never be found.

Gonzales said most of the items on the downed plane were likely mailed sometime between Jan. 7 and 11.

If you were expecting a package in the mail, the U.S. Postal Service said to wait 21 days and if you have not received it by then, contact the shipper to see what can be done.

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