Two southern Idaho businessmen died Saturday when the small airplane they were in slammed into a field near the Cassia County Fairgrounds.
Sheriff Billy R. Crystal said the cause of the crash remained under investigation. He confirmed the victims had been identified as Travis Tilby, 44, and John Robert Stokes, 47, both of Burley.The two were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which was believed to have occurred shortly before noon.
Crystal said the eastbound, single-engine Cessna struck the field east of the fairgrounds stables.
Two Federal Aviation Administration investigators were to arrive on Sunday to examine the wreckage and crash site, the sheriff said.
The National Transportation Safety Board also was expected to investigate, Crystal said.
Authorities believe the aircraft had taken off from Burley Municipal Airport and was flying west when, for some unknown reason, the plane turned 180 degrees to the east.
Stokes owned Stokes' Food Center. Tilby was one of the owners of JT Aviation, located at the Burley airport.
It was unclear which of the men was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.