AVALON, Calif. –
Five people were killed when a small plane crashed during takeoff from Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast, authorities said Wednesday.
The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, just moments after it departed from Catalina Airport near the island city of Avalon, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Five people were on board, the FAA said. Five adults were found dead at the scene in steep, rugged terrain about a mile (1.6 kilometres) west of the airport, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said.
The crash occurred under “unknown circumstances” during takeoff, and those killed were the pilot and four passengers, the FAA said later in an online incident report. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
Emergency crews responded after the Avalon Sheriff Station received …