Airport official: Pilot in fatal plane crash on Catalina Island was not cleared to take off

The pilot of a plane crash on a Southern California island that killed all five people on board was not cleared to take off, an airport official said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed near the island town of Avalon shortly after departing from Santa Catalina Island Airport shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

The airport’s operating hours end at 5 p.m. that day, but pilots can arrange with management to arrive and depart before sunset, airport general manager Carl True told the Orange County Register on Thursday. The pilot arranged for arrival, “but not takeoff, and he was informed of that,” True said.

The airport does not allow flights after sunset as it is not equipped for night operations. True said that although the pilot was not given clearance, the takeoff was not considered illegal. He did not identify the pilot.

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 has a single runway 3,000 feet (914 meters) long.

Authorities identified three of the people killed in the crash as Ali Reza Safai, 73, of West Hills and the owner of the plane; Haris Ali, 33, of Fullerton and Margaret Mary Fenner, 55.

The other two occupants were identified as men in their 30s pending notification of their relatives.

It was not yet known who was piloting the plane.

About 4,000 residents live year-round on Santa Catalina Island, where tourists from the mainland are drawn to snorkel, boat, hike and stroll the quaint streets of the coastal town of Avalon.