Catalina Island

Catalina Island plane crash victims identified

The victims' ages range from the 30s to the 70s.

NBC Universal, Inc.

Los Angeles officials Thursday released the identities of three of the victims from a small plane crash that happened on Catalina Island Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Officer released the names and ages of the three of the five people found dead at the scene.

One of the people killed in the crash was 33-year-old Haris Ali of Fullerton.

Another body recovered from the crash was confirmed to be that of 55-year-old Margaret Mary Fenner.

The plane's registered owner was identified as Ali Reza Safai, 73, of West Hills. Safai's wife identified him as one of the people on board the plane. The coroner's office also confirmed Safai was one of the victims.

Two unidentified victims are believed to be men in their 30s.

The crash happened at around 8 p.m. Authorities said five to six people were aboard the plane when it went down about a mile west of the airport.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, they received an emergency S.O.S. alert, letting them know that someone was involved in a crash.

The plane is believed to have taken off from Santa Monica Municipal Airport and landed at the Catalina Airport about 30 miles off the Los Angeles County coast at around 6 p.m. Tuesday. The plane took off again at around 8 p.m., but it was unclear where it was headed. That's when authorities received the emergency alert.

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