Three people in the twin-engine turboprop aircraft that crashed on Catalina earlier this week, killing all five aboard, have been identified, officials announced Thursday.
The tragic crash occurred on the evening of Oct. 8 shortly after the pilot of the Beechcraft 95 plane, who was reportedly helping two other pilots stranded on the island due to mechanical issues, took off from Catalina Airport.
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, the three victims were identified as 73-year-old Ali Safai, the plane’s registered owner, 33-year-old Fullerton resident Haris Ali and 55-year-old Margaret Fenner.
The identities of the other two occupants, only described as men in their 30’s, are pending notification of next of kin.
Authorities have yet to confirm who was piloting the aircraft, though in a statement from Proteus Flight school in response to the crash, officials indicated it was Safi who “volunteered to assist in retrieving the stranded occupants” after learning one of the flight school’s planes was stuck on the island.
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.
Operating hours at Catalina Airport are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., though pilots are allowed to pre-arrange later arrivals and departures before sunset with airport management, according to reporting from The Orange County Register.
Carl True, the airport’s general manager, told The Register that the pilot had pre-arranged for a landing after 5 p.m., but had not made arrangements for takeoff and “was advised of that.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane 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.
“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.”
On Thursday, crews with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were on the scene, giving the public its first glimpse of the wreckage in the remote area.
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.