HONOLULU (Island News) – Witnesses to the Kamaka Air plane crash described the incident that left two victims dead.

“So the plane was flying very low and after less than a minute I heard a loud bang,” said Rowena Gusilatar, a witness who works nearby.

That plane crash was too close for comfort for so many. It happened in the middle of the afternoon in this area outside the Honolulu airport that was full of shops and people.

“We heard a loud noise. It was like a time bomb. Then everyone went out and then there was a second loud noise again and we saw a lot, it was smoky, very dark and it was like a fire,” said Imelda Quarto, another witness who worked in the area.

The plane was a Kamaka Air Cessna 208.

“It is with a heavy heart that Kamaka Air confirms the loss of two members of the Kamaka Air family in an accident this afternoon at 3:13 p.m. near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport,” said David Hinderland, CEO of Kamaka Air.

It was a training flight. The two people on board were identified by family as Hiram deFries, a 2020 Punahou graduate from the Hawaiian Homestead in Papakolea. He was training for his pilot’s license and his family identified the other pilot as Preston Kaluhiwa, a graduate from Kamehameha.

“As soon as we heard these things, we were all so sad to hear about the death,” Quarto shared.

The plane crashed into the outside stairwell of an abandoned building on Ualena Street, less than 100 meters from the huge fuel tanks and the railway line as well as many shops packed with people.

“I thought I was scared because I was one building away from where it happened,” Gusilatar said.

A situation that could have been much worse, but certainly a great tragedy, heartbreak and loss for those who knew and loved Hiram deFries and Preston Kaluhiwa.