[caption id="attachment_80342" align="aligncenter" width="552"] L?na?i plane crash site. Map courtesy Google Earth.[/caption]

On Thursday, Maui County spokesman Rod Antone informed the Associated Press that a plane leaving the Lanai Airport crashed on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. PST resulting in three dead, two critically injured and one seriously injured.

According to Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga, fire and rescue crews found the plane about a mile southwest of the airport. They had difficulty finding it at first because of the crash site's remote location, but a brush fire caused by the crash resulted in a glow that first responders could see in the dark night. They also had difficulty with their rescue attempts because of the site's remote locale. The injured passengers had to be transported via three separate medevac airplanes to nearby emergency facilities.

The size of the plane hasn't been officially confirmed, but the manager of the Maui airport informed Hawaii News Now that he believes it was a small plane based on the time of the accident. The last commercial flight left Lanai Airport at 8 p.m. PST. Additionally, a small charter flight was supposed to fly to Maui that night with Lanai Planning Commission officials on board.

Although authorities have yet to release the names of the passengers or the status and names of the injured, Maui News reports that a local limousine service owner confirmed that his company dropped five officials from the Planning Department off at the Lanai Airport a half hour before the crash. Rod Antone also confirmed that although the Planning Department's director and deputy director weren't on any flights that night, three officials were scheduled for a meeting on the island that day.

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation. It's unknown what role, if any, plane malfunction or wind conditions that night had in the crash.

3 killed, 2 critical in plane crash near Lanai Airport
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/24836195/breaking-small-plane-crashes-at-lanai-airport-watch-hawaii-news-now-at-10-for-developing-details

3 dead, 3 injured in Hawaii plane crash
http://www.wset.com/story/24836583/3-dead-3-injured-in-hawaii-plane-crash

3 dead, 3 injured in Hawaii plane crash
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/3-dead-2-injured-in-hawaii-plane-crash/2014/02/27/b78a10a4-9f93-11e3-878c-65222df220eb_story.html

Updated 11:20 p.m.: Plane crashes on Lanai; fatalities reported
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/582705/Updated-11-20-p-m---Plane-crashes-on-Lanai--fatalities-reported.html?nav=5161