A new report from federal officials revealed what happened before a plane crashed on a Southern California island, killing all five people on board, that took off in the dark as it did not have authorization to do so.
The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed while attempting to take off shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday from the Santa Catalina Island Airport, near the town of Avalon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport does not allow flights after sunset as it is not equipped for night operations. The airport director previously said that although the pilot had not received permission, the takeoff was not considered illegal.
The preliminary report, released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board, says the plane first landed at Catalina Island Airport at 6:20 p.m. to pick up a flight instructor and two student pilots who were stranded after their aircraft malfunctioned. rental plane.
The airport manager told the pilot he had to leave before sunset at 6:31 p.m. As the pilot attempted to take off with his new passengers, the plane’s right engine would not start due to insufficient battery, so they had to get out and log in. the engine to a charger, according to the report.
The airport director informed the pilot that because the loading time would push the departure time past sunset, takeoff would not be approved. The pilot said he had to take off anyway, according to the report.
“The airport director informed him that, although he could not stop him, his departure would not be approved and would be at his own risk,” the report said.
Airport security footage shows the plane taking off in “dark night conditions” in which it was not possible to know whether the plane was airborne or not until reaching the end of the runway , according to the report.
The plane crashed with its landing gear extended on a ridge line about 1 mile southwest of the end of the runway, according to the report. The main wreckage ended in a ravine approximately 450 feet (137 meters) west of the initial point of impact.
The plane was registered to Ali Safai, 73, of Los Angeles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. He was a former flight instructor and founder of a flight school which closed in 2018.
He died in the crash alongside Gonzalo Lubel, 34; Haris Ali, 33 years old; Park Joeun, 37 years old; and Margaret Mary Fenner, 55, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.
The airfield is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its precarious location at an elevation of 1,602 feet (488 meters) on the island, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off the coast of Los Angeles. It is known to be difficult to land and take off and has been the scene of previous accidents.
The airport has a single 3,000-foot (914-meter) runway that is not equipped with lighting.
