Five people on a skydiving trip in Hawaii died on Monday morning when their plane crashed on the island of Kauai immediately after takeoff, state officials said.
The crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. local time outside the fence line of the Port Allen Airport, said Hawaii Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara.
He said five people were on the plane at the time – a pilot, two skydiving instructors and two clients – and that no one on the ground was injured. He said it appeared that each of the clients intended to perform a tandem jump with an instructor.
Sakahara said four of the individuals were pronounced dead at the scene while one man died after being taken to an area hospital.
Local firefighters put out a small brushfire sparked by the crash in a grassy field outside the airport, Sakahara said.
Sakahara said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified of the incident and would investigate. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the aircraft crashed while taking off.
Further details were not immediately available.