5 killed after twin-engine plane crashes on Catalina Island; investigation underway

AVALON, Calif. (KABC) -- Five people were killed when a plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Catalina Island Tuesday night, authorities confirmed.

The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 went down in steep terrain around 8 p.m. about one mile west of the island's airport. The Los Angeles County Sheriff - Avalon Station says it received a 911 SOS emergency notification from a cellular device that stated its user may have been involved in a collision with possible injuries.

"It gives coordinates to a location, so it's not necessarily like a street name or a landmark. It's just a coordinates on a map so deputies had to saturate the area and try to locate where this SOS notification was coming from," said LASD Deputy Jacob Sivley.

The device-provided GPS coordinates allowed rescuers to locate the wreckage, they confirmed five adults had died. Their identities have not been released.



It's believed that the aircraft started off at Santa Monica Airport, traveled to the island and departed again before it crashed.



Deputies say when they arrived at the scene of the crash, it appeared the plane was mostly intact.

It remains unclear what caused the crash, but the island's airport presents its own set of challenges for pilots, according to AIR7's Scott Reiff.

The airport is primarily used for general aviation aircraft, including single-engine airplanes and is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its location at an elevation of 1,602 feet. It has a single, 3,000-foot runway.

"I've landed there multiple times in an airplane. It's tricky," Reiff said. "You approach... basically over a cliff and when you come into the airport, as you start to descend, you can't see the end. There's a hump in the middle, so it's deceiving exactly how long the runway is."



The specific aircraft that crashed is only designed to hold four people, but there were five on board at the time. Investigators will determine if that was a factor.



Now the task is to secure the area and collect evidence. It is steep and rugged and getting in and out of the area will be difficult for investigators and the coroner's office.

"Our aero bureau is going to be responding with the Los Angeles County medical examiner with our emergency services detail to work in their duties on that rough terrain as much as they can," Sivley said.



The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are working together with the sheriff's department as they investigate the deadly crash.



The airport remained closed Wednesday afternoon due to the investigation.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.