Two dead after vintage plane crashes north of Duluth

DULUTH — Two men who had taken a single-engine vintage plane out for a test flight on Wednesday died after it crashed into a wooded area near Pequaywan Lake Road about 30 miles northeast of Duluth.

Bryan Handyside, 60, and Matthew Joseph, 64, were co-workers at Duluth-based Cirrus Aircraft flying a privately owned two-seater — a 1946 Aeronca 7CCM Champion. They left Duluth International Airport around 7:15 a.m. and were scheduled to return to the same airport, according to Lt. Todd Abernethy of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.

The downed plane's emergency locator transmitter alerted the Florida-based Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which requested local aircraft to search for the location of the emergency beacon, said Sgt. Eric Sathers, with the Sheriff's Office. The coordination center, at Tyndall Air Force Base, organizes searches and rescues throughout North America.

A spotter plane found the wreckage in a grouping of trees in an unincorporated area outside of Duluth near Handyside's home. It was found nose down, tail in the air and still intact about 30 yards into the woods, according to Abernethy.

Handyside, who had more than 30 years of experience, was piloting the plane; Joseph was a passenger.

Cirrus said in a statement that both men, who were on a personal flight, 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 statement said.

The cause of the crash is unknown, and will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane recently completed an annual inspection and was on a "return to service" flight, the Sheriff's Office said.

There have been three plane crashes in this region in the past eight months. In February David Rathbun, a longtime chief engineer for Cirrus, crashed at Grassy Point near the Bong Bridge in the harbor. A single-engine plane flown by Tyler Fretland crashed into a house in Hermantown in October, killing the pilot and siblings Alyssa Schmidt and Matthew Schmidt. The trio had been at a wedding in Duluth earlier in the night.