The Korea Daily found that one of the unidentified passengers who died in the Catalina Island aircraft crash on October 8 was a Korean woman. The victim was initially reported as a man in his 30s.
The woman was pursuing a master’s program at an aviation college in the United States and was also a flight instructor.
On October 14, Da Eun Park, a South Korean woman, confirmed that the unidentified fatality was her sister, Jo Eun Park. Park said she does not know why the Los Angeles County Coroner identified her sister as a man in his 30s.
Earlier, the AP, the Los Angeles Times, and others reported that one unidentified fatality of the crash was a man, citing a statement from the Coroner’s Office. Of the five people killed, four had been identified, including the owner of the light aircraft, 73-year-old Ali Safai, 55-year-old Margaret Mary Fenner, 34-year-old Gonzalo Lubel, and 33-year-old Haris Ali.
Park was pursuing a master’s degree in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and was also a flight instructor. She also ran a YouTube channel called Jo Eun Pilot (Good Pilot), where she shared her stories of how she dreamed of becoming an airplane pilot and her failures and experiences in becoming a flight instructor in the U.S.
According to her videos, Park was born in Daegu, South Korea, and first developed an interest in airplanes in high school during a presentation at the Korean Air Force Academy. After graduating from college, she applied for a job as a flight attendant but was rejected repeatedly.
Park’s passion for airplanes was rekindled when she saw a female pilot at a charity event for Australia’s Qantas Airways, which she attended by chance, and she began to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. She made her first flight at the age of 31, she said in her YouTube videos.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, and it has been pointed out that the plane took off during the dark hours of the night. It’s not clear who was at the controls at the time. An anonymous acquaintance of Park’s said she was on the plane as a passenger at the time.
The LA Times reported on October 12 that Catalina Island Airport is like taking off and landing from an aircraft carrier. It noted that the airport does not operate at night because it is not equipped for nighttime operations, including night crews and runway lights. It also reported that the aircraft hit a hillside seconds after takeoff, causing it to crash.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
