Five people were killed in a plane crash in California's Catalina Islands when a small plane took off from an airport without permission.
The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after takeoff about 8 p.m. Tuesday night about a mile west of Catalina Airport near the island city of Avalon, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Officials said the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Avalon Station received an SOS message from a member of the plane's crew alerting them to the crash.
Five adult victims, including the plane's owner and flight instructor Ali Reza Safai, 73, were found at the crash site and pronounced dead. It remains unclear who was flying the plane.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but airport officials said no planes were allowed to depart from the airport, which was closed at the time of the crash. Press Telegram reported.
Located approximately 1,6,000 feet above sea level, the airport operates daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but pilots may arrive and fly after 5 p.m. as long as they have made advance travel arrangements with the airport. We are cleared to leave, said General Manager Karl. True told the newspaper.
Officials said the plane arrived around 6:20 p.m.
“He had prearranged to arrive after 5 p.m., but not for takeoff, and he was informed of that,” True said.
The airport is not equipped for night operations and there is no lighting along the 3,000-foot runway, so flights are not allowed after dark.
Although the pilot was not given a permit, the trip was not considered illegal, True noted.
In addition to Safai, the other occupants of the plane were identified Thursday by the coroner's office as Harris Ali, 33, and Margaret Mary Fenner, 55. The remaining two occupants have been identified only as men in their 30s, pending notification of their families. officials said of their deaths.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Bureau Published photos Photos of the wreckage were posted on social media, showing the broken plane on a hill next to it. Images showed that the plane's tail appeared to be broken.
“When the sheriff's office, search and rescue, and firefighters all arrived on scene, they could see the tail of the plane about 300 feet below,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sergeant John Robinson. grayson cline told KTLA. “You couldn't see it from the road.”
Safai worked as a flight instructor at the Santa Monica Airport and ran Santa Monica Aviation until it closed in 2018, according to the report. National Business Aviation Association. He kept his plane at the airport, but it is unclear whether he was the pilot at the time of the crash.
Proteus Flight School, another airport operator in Santa Monica, said Safea was assisting Proteus members stranded on the island.
“His friendship and generous spirit were evident yesterday when we learned that a Proteus plane was stranded at Catalina Airport due to mechanical problems,” Proteus said in a statement.
“Without hesitation, he volunteered to help rescue stranded residents left on top of Catalina Island without transportation or accommodation.”
