Plane crash victims ID'd

Photo: Contributed - http://lbchapman.com/

The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed a father and son from Vernon were killed after their small aircraft crashed near Fort St. John on Friday.

They are pilot Leonard Bradley Chapman, 56, and Florian Michael Chapman, 26.

The Cessna 207 airplane crashed on takeoff from an unpaved airstrip at the Chapman gravel site in Baldonnel and then caught fire, about 15 kilometres south of Fort St. John, shortly after 3 p.m. Oct. 16, according to a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board.

Both men were deceased at the scene.

An investigation into the accident continues.

Transport Canada records show the plane, identified by the tail mark C-GNVZ, is registered to Chapman Corporate Air Services Ltd.

The pit where the crash occurred is owned and operated by LB Chapman Construction Ltd., which operates in the Peace Region and has head offices in Vernon.

On its website, LB Chapman Construction, is described as a general contractor in the field of heavy civil construction and infrastructure operating throughout British Columbia including roadworks, rock blasting, excavation and rock fall protection. 

It contracts air services with Chapman Group Aviation to ferry engineers, technical staff, crew and material to remote locations.

The family of the two men has asked for privacy.