Catalina Island plane crash kills 5

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Recovery efforts were continuing Wednesday at the site of a plane crash on Catalina Island that killed all five people on board.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Avalon Station said it received a 911 SOS emergency notification from a cell phone that stated its user may have been involved in a collision with possible injuries.

"There's a sensor on the iPhone, when there's a hard bump or something, it gives you an alert tone," said LASD Captain Matthew King. "At about 10 o'clock, in the area the alert tone was, we ended up locating a downed aircraft." 

The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after departure from Catalina Airport in Avalon around 8 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It's unknown where the plane was headed.

Five adults, including the pilot, were declared dead at the scene. The aircraft number comes back to Ali Safai. A note posted at the Santa Monica Airport says that Safai "ran a flight school that closed five years ago."

"He taught people," said Patrice Kaufman-Jones, a neighbor.  "He was a wonderful human being, a great father. It’s very sad."

"He was always very welcoming to anyone that came into the flight school," said Clemente Ortiz.

"He was just a super kind old soul," said Kayli Harnack. "He just loved helping people. He was going to help me a little bit on some ground stuff. He was just a very nice person."

One pilot tells FOX 11 that he landed at the Catalina Buffalo Springs Airport hours before the crash occurred.

"It was clear, obviously the coastal fog comes in later in the evening," said Oliver Pelham Burn. "The airport is closed at night and when it’s unattended. It lists the unattended times as after 5 p.m. However, I know there are exceptions to that."

The wreckage of the aircraft was located about a mile west of the airport.

The recovery operation was suspended late Tuesday night due to visibility issues, but efforts resumed Wednesday after daybreak.

Family, friends, and neighbors of the victims say they’re shocked and devastated by what happened.

"We’re all upset," said Kaufman-Jones. "The neighbors, we’re all crying. You see this on the news, and you never think it’s going to be your neighbor."

The father of one of the victims didn’t want to speak on camera but told FOX 11, "Love your loved ones."

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Avalon Sheriff's Station at 310-510-0174.