As search and recovery efforts continue in the tragic plane crash on Catalina Island that killed all five people aboard, KTLA has learned that the twin-engine Beechcraft 95, owned by a former flight instructor, made the evening flight to the island to help two stranded pilots.
According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was registered to Ali Safai.
People with knowledge of the incident who spoke to KTLA said they believe Safai was aboard when the plane went down and that he made the trip because two pilots from Proteus Flight school were trapped there due to mechanical issues.
In response to the tragedy, officials at the Proteus Flight school released the following statement:
“Ali kept his airplane at Santa Monica Airport, where he was always a cherished friend to all of us at Proteus. His spirit of camaraderie and generosity was evident when he learned that a Proteus airplane was stranded at Catalina Airport due to mechanical issues yesterday. Without hesitation, he volunteered to assist in retrieving the stranded occupants, who were left without transport or lodging at the top of Catalina Island.”
Authorities have yet to formally identify the victims, saying the treacherous terrain where the crash occurred has made recovery efforts extremely difficult.
“When the deputies and the search and rescue and the fire guys all got there, they saw the tail of the plane down about 300 feet,” LASD Sgt. Grayson Kline said. “You couldn’t see it from the road.”
The flight-tracking website FlightAware shows the twin-engine Beechcraft departing from Santa Monica Airport shortly before 6 p.m. and arriving at Catalina Island Airport about 20 minutes later.
“Late in the evening, you do get a lot of moisture over there with cloud cover and fog coming up the back side or the west side of the island,” former KTLA chopper pilot Tim Lynn explained.
He also said the airport officially closes at 5 p.m. and that normally nighttime operations are prohibited. It’s unclear if the pilot of the aircraft in this case was given special clearance.
“Departing the airport is also pretty tricky too,” Lynn said. “As you depart out, you hit a bit of a down draft at the end of the runaway.”
Shortly after taking off from that runway, the Beechcraft went down in rough terrain about a mile west of Catalina Airport.
First responders with the Avalon Sheriff’s Station received an S.O.S. emergency notification from one of the passengers on the downed aircraft just after 8 p.m. Tuesday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The notification provided authorities with GPS coordinates, allowing deputies to respond to the location along with firefighters and Avalon Search and Rescue personnel.
“Under a unified command, they were able to locate the wreckage of a twin-engine aircraft approximately one mile west of Catalina Island Airport,” the Sheriff’s Department stated.
Five victims, all adults, were located at the crash site and pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
“The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide further updates,” the FAA said in a statement.
Catalina Island Airport is primarily used for general aviation aircraft, including single-engine airplanes and is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its elevation of 1,602 feet. It has a single, 3,000-foot runway.
