Two people died after a Cessna Caravan plane crashed near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
According to the Star-Advertiser, citing a statement from the Department of Transportation (DOT), the single-turboprop plane crashed into an abandoned building.
Ed Sniffen, the DOT director, explained that the Kamaka Air training flight had two people aboard. Names of the passengers, along with the ages have not been released by the DOT yet.
Kamaka Air CEO David Hinderland released a statement on the plane crash, citing the reason behind the non-release of the identities of the pilots, KITV reported.
“We are not releasing the names of the pilots until family members have had a chance to process this tragedy. We hope the media will give them the same consideration.
In the meantime, we are making ourselves available to the Hawaii Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration for investigation into this accident, and we will also share appropriate information with the media as it is confirmed over the coming hours and days.
At this time we ask for your patience, as you know, the urgency of getting correct information that not only offers a clear understanding of what happened, but to ensure that the information is handled appropriately.”
The plane took off from Runway 4-Left of the airport but crashed only a few moments after take off.
FlightAware noted that the flight was Kamaka Air flight 689, which departed at around 3:15 pm from Honolulu airport and headed for Lanai Airport. However, it never reached its destination.
When the crash occurred, Honolulu Emergency Operations Center immediately responded. The Department of Emergency Management, along with the Honolulu Fire Department and the Honolulu Police Department have been monitoring the situation.
Gov. Josh Green also released a statement on the crash.
“Shortly after three this afternoon, HDOT responded to a plane crash into an unoccupied building on Ualena Street.
All airport facilities are operational; however, the roads surrounding the plane crash are closed. HDOT is coordinating with airport employees and Terminal 3 occupants to provide safe transportation to areas not needed for the response to the crash.
“Jaime’s and my hearts go out to the pilot and passenger and their families as well as to all who have experienced this traumatic event. Services are available to help you process what you have witnessed; call 2-1-1, Aloha United Way, for assistance. Our Department of Transportation team will provide all necessary support to federal officials, whose job it will be to investigate this incident and determine a cause, which may not be known for some time,” the statement added.
The post 2 Die As Cessna Plane Crashes Near Honolulu Airport appeared first on International Business Times.
