In a tragic incident reported in Honolulu, a small cargo plane crashed into a vacant building Tuesday afternoon and burst into flames, killing both pilots on board, authorities said.
Kamaka Air Flight 689 crashed into an empty building at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Tuesday around 3:15pm, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
Aerial video shows the plane flying sideways across the airport at low altitude before crashing into a building, creating thick black smoke.
According to audio obtained by Hawaii News Now, the control tower asked the pilots of Kamaka Flight 689, “Kamaka Flight 689, you’re turning right, right?” The pilots responded, “Mark 689, we’re here, we’ve got, uh, we’re out of control here.”
The control tower said, “OK, Kamaka 689, if you can stay, if you can take it off, it’s OK.” Any runway, any place you can do it,” the Associated News reported. But the plane crashed seconds later.
Kamaka Air CEO David Hinderland said the names of the two pilots have not been released and added “It is with a heavy heart that Kamaka Air confirms the loss of two members of the Kamaka Air family in the accident.”
However, local media reported that family members of the first pilot identified him as Hiram Defries, a 20-year-old Punahou School graduate who was a pilot in training, while the second pilot was identified as Preston Kaluhiwa, a Kamehameha Schools graduate.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash that killed two pilots, and the Honolulu Fire Department said no one else was injured in the incident.
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