The pilot and his passenger who were killed when the World War II-era Globe GC-1B airplane they were flying in crashed Saturday morning in Afton have been identified.
Killed were pilot William “Pat” Moore, 85, White Bear Lake, and his passenger, Mitchell J. Zahler, 68, Baytown Township, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Several neighbors near the 15000 block of Afton Hills Boulevard South called 911 shortly before 9:45 a.m. after hearing what they said sounded like a small explosion. When emergency crews arrived, they found a fully engulfed plane that had crashed near a home’s attached garage, according to the Washington County sheriff’s office.
The men, who flew out of Lake Elmo Airport in Baytown Township, were en route to the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum, an aviation museum, in Granite Falls, Minn., officials said.
This incident, including the cause of the crash and any contributing factors, remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said Laura Perkins, a spokeswoman for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses to the plane crash or those who have surveillance footage or other information that could be relevant to the investigation are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
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