2 pilots die in fiery small plane crash into vacant building near Honolulu airport

HONOLULU (AP) — A small cargo plane on a training flight crashed into a vacant building shortly after taking off from Honolulu's airport and burst into flames, killing both pilots on board, authorities said.

Kamaka Air Flight 689 crashed into the building at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Video shows the plane veering sideways into the airport area at low altitude before slamming into the building, creating a thick, black plume of smoke.

“Kamaka Flight 689, you’re turning right, correct?” the control tower said, according audio obtained by Hawaii News Now.

The pilot responded, “Kamaka 689, we are, we have, uh, we’re out of control here.”

“OK, Kamaka 689, if you can land, if you can level it off, that’s fine,” the control tower said. “Any runway, any place you can do.”

The plane crashed moments later.

“It is with heavy hearts that Kamaka Air confirms the loss of two members of the Kamaka Air family in an accident,” company CEO David Hinderland told reporters. He said the names of the two pilots have not been released yet.

Hawaii News Now reported that family members identified one of the victims as Hiram Defries, a Punahou School graduate in his 20s who was a pilot in training. KITV reported that the family of the other pilot identified him as Preston Kaluhiwa, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

The FAA said the the single-engine Cessna 208 was headed to Lanai Airport, which is in Maui County. Kamaka Air provides freight delivery services for both individuals and businesses, according to its website.

No one else was hurt, the Honolulu Fire Department said. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, the FAA said.

This image made from a video shows the wreckage of a small cargo plane on a training flight after it crashed into a vacant building and burst into flames shortly after taking off from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Lama Tonga via AP)

This image made from a video shows the wreckage of a small cargo plane on a training flight after it crashed into a vacant building and burst into flames shortly after taking off from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Lama Tonga via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)