Deadly Afton Plane Crash: 2 Victims Identified

AFTON, MN — The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office identified the two men killed in a plane crash in Afton on Saturday.

They were identified as William Patrick Moore, 85 of White Bear Lake, and Mitchell Jay Zahler, 68 of Baytown Township.

Just before 9:45 a.m. Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received several 911 calls from neighbors near the 15000 block of Afton Hills Boulevard South reporting what sounded like a small explosion.

Emergency crews arrived and found a small, fully engulfed aircraft that had crashed in the yard of a residence near the attached garage.

The Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department extinguished the flames and found two bodies.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.