The pilot of a small plane that crashed on Santa Catalina Island, killing five, he was warned not to take off in treacherous conditions after dark. Now, a new report sheds light on why he waited until after sunset to leave.

The twin-engine Beechcraft 95-B44 crashed about a mile from Catalina Airport just after 8:00 p.m. on October 8.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board reveals that the aircraft was underpowered and needed to be charged shortly before takeoff. It also says the plane he was not allowed to take off and that the airport manager made it clear to the pilot that he should not depart after dark. However, it does not identify a precise cause of the accident.

Night operations are not permitted at the tiny, single-runway airport due to unsafe conditions—there is no air traffic controller, no night attendants, and no runway lights. Situated atop a 1,602-foot mountain, the airport has a reputation for being a scary place to fly.

The Beechcraft plane was owned by Ali Safai, 73, of West Hills, according to the Federal Aviation Authority Register. Safai was the founder of a flight school that operated at Santa Monica Airport until it closed in 2018.

He died in the accident alongside Haris Ali, 33; Margaret Mary Fenner, 55; Joeun Park, 37; and Gonzalo Lubel, 34, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

The Beechcraft was dispatched to Catalina to pick up a flight instructor and two student pilots who were stranded on the island on the afternoon of Oct. 8 after experiencing pre-flight mechanical failure with a chartered plane, according to the report.

The stranded group contacted the flight school they rented the plane from and were told another plane would pick them up and fly them back to the Santa Monica airport. The response plane was not operated by the flight school and belonged to a friend of the school’s owner, according to the report.

Before landing on Catalina at 6:20 p.m., the Beechcraft pilot was informed that he would have to leave the island before sunset at 6:31 p.m., according to the report.

But when the pilot tried to prepare for takeoff, the right engine did not start due to insufficient battery power, according to the report.

The airport manager then told the pilot that the loading time would push them past sunset and that their departure would not be cleared.

Despite the dangers of taking off after dark, the pilot insisted on going, according to the report.

“The airport director informed him that although he could not stop him, his departure would be unauthorized and at his own risk,” the report said.

Airport surveillance footage shows the plane taking off on the runway at night, according to the report. Tracking data shows the plane climbed 75 feet above the runway, turned right and then went into a sudden, steep dive seconds after takeoff at 8:08 p.m.

The plane struck a ridgeline 0.96 miles from the end of the runaway, and the main wreckage came to rest in a ravine about 450 feet west of the original point of impact, according to the report. Crews from Avalon and the LA County Fire and Sheriff’s Departments joined a search and found the plane.