The last of the five individuals who perished in a plane accident on Santa Catalina Island was identified by authorities on Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified Joeun Park, 37, on Tuesday.
One of the fatal victims was identified as Gonzalo Lubel, 34, on Friday. The coroner’s office identified the three additional individuals who passed away on Thursday: Haris Ali, a 33-year-old man from Fullerton; Margaret Mary Fenner, 55; and Ali Reza Safai, a 73-year-old man from West Hills.
The plane was registered to Safai, who was previously a flight instructor at Santa Monica Aviation, which is now defunct and located at Santa Monica Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
On October 8, at approximately 8 p.m., the twin-engine Beechcraft 95-B55 collided shortly after it departed from Catalina Airport in Avalon, according to FAA spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt during an interview with City News Service.
The aircraft crashed approximately one mile west of the airport. Breitenfeldt stated that five individuals were involved in the project. “The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will conduct an inquiry.” The investigation will be overseen by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which will furnish additional information.
The Avalon station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that it received an SOS emergency notification from a mobile phone that indicated that its owner may have been involved in a collision with potential injuries.
According to the sheriff’s department, the location was attended to by Avalon Station deputies, as well as members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Avalon Search and Rescue, and Avalon City Fire Department.
“They were able to locate the wreckage of a twin-engine aircraft approximately one mile west of Catalina Island Airport under a unified command.” “Five adults were discovered at the crash site and declared deceased on the spot.”
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, reports that the Beechcraft aircraft departed Santa Monica Airport slightly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday and arrived at Catalina Airport approximately 20 minutes later.
Aircraft operations are generally prohibited during all other hours or when the airport is unattended, and Catalina Airport is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Southern California News Group was informed by an airport official on Thursday that the pilot had made provisions to land at the airfield after operating hours on Tuesday, but did not have approval to take off later that night.
