5 dead after a small plane crashes on Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast

AVALON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say five people are dead after a small plane crashed on Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The Federal Aviation Administration says the twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after it departed from Catalina Airport on Tuesday night near the island town of Avalon. The FAA says five people were on board. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office says five adults were found dead at the scene in rugged terrain about a mile west of the airport. The airfield is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its location at an elevation of 1,602 feet on the island about 25 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.