Two die in plane crash

COEUR d'ALENE - A pilot and his 21-year-old son were killed in a plane crash 10 miles south of Coeur d'Alene late Friday, authorities have confirmed.

The single-engine Cessna 210 crashed in the Red Hog Ridge area.

The bodies of the pilot, 50-year-old Craig D. Kestner, and his son, 21-year-old Brock S. Kestner, were recovered at about 2 p.m. on Saturday, said Kootenai County Sheriff's Department Major Dan Mattos.

Both men are believed to be from Basin, Wyo., Mattos said. Their family has been notified.

Officers were called to the area at about 5:10 p.m. Friday, authorities said. A Spokane County Sheriff's helicopter located the crash site near Loffs Bay Road, more than a mile east of U.S. Highway 95, about 80 minutes later.

Bureau of Aeronautics notified the sheriff's department of a signal from an aircraft emergency locator beacon, according to a department press release. A Spokane County Sheriff's helicopter, Air 1, located the crash site about 80 minutes later. Shortly thereafter, personnel of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department and Mica-Kidd Island Fire arrived on scene, the release said.

"(The plane) came to rest in a heavily wooded, brushy area," Mattos said.

The recovery of the victims was delayed until the next day because of weather and the remote terrain, the Kootenai County Sheriff's office said in a statement.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department and authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. The cause has not been determined.

"We don't have any idea right now," Mattos said. "It's going to take some investigation to determine why the plane went down."