Three people were hurt when a small airplane overran the runway at Catalina Airport Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The accident happened around 9:38 a.m., prompting the fire department to send in a rescue helicopter and boat, said Inspector Joey Marron, a spokesman for the agency.

All three people on the plane were flown to mainland hospitals to treat critical injuries, according to a tweet from the Fire Department.

“Luckily there’s no fire though,” Marron said.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane was a single-engine Piper PA-32.

The island airport is notoriously tricky. The airport’s website says the runway where the crash happened begins at the edge of a 1,500-foot cliff, making it similar to landing on an aircraft carrier in the sky.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.