Authorities identify 2 killed in northern Minnesota plane crash
St. Louis County Sheriff's Office squads at the scene of a plane crash near the 8300 block of Pequaywan Lake Road in unorganized township 54R13. (WDIO-TV)
Authorities say two people died Wednesday morning when a plane crashed north of Duluth.
WDIO-TV reports that the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the small plane took off from Duluth International Airport and then activated a beacon at 8:12 a.m., indicating something was wrong. Law enforcement officials later found the plane crashed around 30 miles north of the city near the 8300 block of Pequaywan Lake Road.
Both the pilot and passenger died, authorities told WDIO. The Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as 60-year-old Bryan Paul Handysidee of Unorganized Township 54R13 and the passenger as 64-year-old Matthew William Joseph of Duluth.
Additionally, WDIO reports that the plane is believed to have recently completed an annual inspection and was making its “return to service” flight.
The victims haven’t yet been publicly identified.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.