The FAA is investigating a small plane crash near Duluth that killed two people.
At 08:12 a.m. on Wednesday, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office deputies were sent to a report of a plane crash northeast of Two Harbors.
The sheriff's office reported that the duty officer received a call from Air Force rescue of a registered aircraft beacon that had been alarmed. A spotter plane in the area observed possible wreckage on the ground.
Upon arrival, deputies located the crash site in a wooded area to the West of Pequaywan Lake Rd. Both the pilot and passenger were dead.
The plane was determined to be a 1946 Aeronca Cjamp, which can seat two occupants. At this time the cause of the crash is unknown. It is believed the aircraft recently completed an annual inspection and was on a “return to service” flight. The aircraft is believed to have taken off from the Duluth International Airport earlier in the morning.
The two parties who died in the plane crash have been identified as Bryan Paul Handyside, 60 years old, from the area where the plane crashed, and Matthew William Joseph, 64 years old, from Duluth.
Handyside and Joseph are co-workers at Cirrus, but according to authorities the aircraft being flown was privately owned. Handyside is reported as piloting the plane, and Joseph was the passenger. Handyside had over 30 years of piloting experience.