Former flight instructor aircraft involved in fatal crash on Catalina Island

Posted on by Vaseline

As search and recovery efforts continue at the tragic Catalina Island plane crash that killed all five people on board, KTLA has learned that the twin-engine Beechcraft 95 belonged to a former West Hills flight instructor.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was registered to Ali Safai. Authorities have yet to identify the victims, although people with knowledge of the incident who spoke to KTLA said they believed Safai was on board when the plane crashed.

Flight tracking website FlightAware shows the twin-engine Beechcraft taking off from Santa Monica Airport shortly before 6 p.m. and arriving at Catalina Island Airport about 20 minutes later.

“Late in the evening you get a lot of moisture there, with clouds and fog coming up off the back or west side of the island,” explains former KTLA helicopter pilot Tim Lynn.

He also said the airport officially closes at 5 p.m. and nighttime activities are normally prohibited. It is unclear whether the pilot of the plane received special clearance in this case.

  • Fatal Catalina plane crashAli Safai seen in an undated photo.
  • Fatal Catalina plane crashFlight path of the twin-engine Beechcraft 95 that crashed in a fatal crash on Catalina Island on October 8, 2024. (FlightAware.com)
  • Fatal Catalina plane crashCatalina Airport’s runway, seen here, is 900 meters long and located at an altitude of 1,602 meters. (KAVX Airport Instagram)

“Leaving the airport is also quite difficult,” Lynn said. “When you take off, you get a bit of a downward draft at the end of the runaway.”

Shortly after takeoff from that runway, the Beechcraft crashed into rough terrain about a mile west of Catalina Airport.

First responders from the Avalon Sheriff’s Station received an SOS emergency call from one of the passengers of the crashed plane just after 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The report provided authorities with GPS coordinates, allowing emergency services to respond to the location along with firefighters and Avalon Search and Rescue personnel.

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“Under unified command, they were able to locate the wreckage of a twin-engine aircraft approximately one mile west of Catalina Island Airport,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

Five victims, all adults, were located at the crash site and pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide further updates,” the FAA said in a statement.

Catalina Island Airport is primarily used for general aviation aircraft, including single-engine aircraft, and is known as the Airport in the Sky due to its height of 1,602 feet. It has a single runway of 900 meters.

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