5 Dead After Small Plane Crashes on Santa Catalina Island Off Southern California Coast

Catalina Island Conservancy Airport Manager Justin Bollum looks out of the airport tower as U.S. Marines and Navy Seabees rebuild the mountaintop runway on Santa Catalina Island, Calif., on Jan. 25, 2019. Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

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 Federal Aviation Administration.