2 Killed After Small Plane Crashes North of Duluth

DULUTH, MINN. — A Small plane crash Wednesday morning took the lives of two local men who were on board.

The two victims have been identified as 60-year-old Bryan Handyside who lived near the crash site along Pequaywan Lake Road and 64-year-old Matthew Joseph of Duluth.

Handyside was the pilot of the 1946 Aeronca Champ and had over 30 years of piloting experience.

The site of the crash is on property owned by Handyside according to Lt. Todd Abernethy of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. He also said the land has a private runway, but it’s not clear if the plane was trying to reach it.

The plane was privately owned by a group of Cirrus employees who enjoy flying, according to Abernethy.  Both Handyside and Joseph were employed by Cirrus.

A statement from Cirrus about the incident said in part:

“…Both men were long-time valued team members who made many contributions to both Cirrus Aircraft and general aviation. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, the Cirrus Aircraft team, and our entire community.”

The Sheriff’s Office was first notified of a possible plane down by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center that had detected a distress signal from the plane.

“The investigation will be taking place by the NTSB, they will be here tomorrow morning around eight. The FAA was on the scene with us today, so we’re also working with them to investigate the crash,” Abernethy told FOX 21.

The plane had recently undergone its annual inspection and was on a return to service flight.