It was on a skydiving excursion when it crashed, Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel P. Neves said.
When firefighters arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames and they worked to extinguish them. Witnesses saw the plane coming inbound before it went down onto a fence line, away from the runway, Neves said.
“This is the most tragic aircraft incident that we had. We had some helicopters with the military but this is a civilian plane that went down and with that many people on board,” Neves told CNN affiliate KGMB.
The names of the passengers have not been released. Some family members were at the airfield when the plane went down, Neves said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will be taking over the investigation.
This is an ongoing story. More updates to come.
