In a tragic incident reported from Honolulu, a small cargo plane crashed into a vacant building Tuesday afternoon and burst into flames, killing both pilots on board, officials said.
Kamaka Air Flight 689 crashed into an empty building at Daniel K. Inoue International Airport at around 3:15pm on Tuesday, according to US aviation regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A video of the plane shows the plane flying sideways over the airport area 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, correct?” To which the pilots replied, “Kamaka 689, we’re in, we’re in, we’re out of control here.”
The control tower said, “Okay, Kamaka 689, if you can land it, if you can level it, that’s great. Any runway, any place you can,” the Associated News reported. But the plane crashed shortly after.
Kamaka Air CEO David Hinderland did not release the names of the two pilots and added, “Kamaka Air can confirm 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 Kamehameha School graduate Preston Kaluhiva.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash that killed two pilots, while the Honolulu Fire Department said no one else was injured.
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