A new report by federal authorities has revealed the events that led to a plane crash that took off in the dark despite not being authorized on a Southern California island, killing all five people on board.

twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed The plane was attempting to take off from the airport near the town of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airport does not allow flights after sunset because it is not equipped for night operations. airport manager it has been said before that the takeoff was not considered illegal even though the pilot was not authorized to do so.

The preliminary report published by the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday stated that the plane first landed at Catalina Island airport at 6:20 p.m. to pick up a flight instructor and two student pilots who were stranded due to a malfunction in the plane they had rented.

The airport manager told the pilot that he had to leave before sunset at 18:31. While the pilot was trying to take off with his new passengers, the right engine of the plane was not working due to insufficient battery power, so they had to get off the plane and make connection. According to the report, we connected the engine to the charger.

The airport manager informed the pilot that takeoff would not be approved because charging time would push the takeoff time after sunset. The report stated that the pilot said he had to take off anyway.

“The airport manager told him that although he could not stop him, his departure could not be approved and he would do so at his own risk,” the report said.

According to the report, airport security footage showed the plane taking off in “dark night conditions” where it was impossible to tell whether it was airborne before reaching the end of the runway.

The plane crashed with its landing gear extended from the end of the runway onto a ridgeline about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) southwest, the report said. The main wreckage ended up in a valley approximately 450 feet (137 meters) west of the initial impact point.

The plane was registered to Ali Safai, 73, of Los Angeles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. He was a former flight instructor and the founder of a flight school that closed in 2018.

He died in the accident along with 34-year-old Gonzalo Lubel; Haris Ali, 33; Joeun Park, 37; and Margaret Mary Fenner, 55, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The airport is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its precarious location, located at an elevation of 1,602 feet (488 meters) on the island, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off the coast of Los Angeles. Landing and takeoff are known to be difficult and this is where previous crashes.

The airport has a single 3,000-foot (914-meter) runway that is not equipped with runway lighting.